Dark Side of the Moon
by Crescent Pulsar
Summary: Ranma and Sailor Moon crossover. I have returned! Sorry, but I've been busy. Details at end of Part 2. Part one revised. Don't think I abandoned this, 'cause I won't leave till it's done, even if a bit slowly. 07/02/12: I'll update this at some point in the near future...
1. Chapter 1 Part 1

Disclaimer: What's mine is mine; what's not is not. Darn! That leaves me with practically  
nothing! Ideas just don't have much substance... Sigh  
  
Author's note: Points finger accusingly This is all your fault! On the table lies the  
ever-innocent Pink Floyd album "Dark side of the moon" If it weren't for you... If it  
weren't... I wouldn't be writing this pointless thing!  
  
Author's note #2: Anyway, this was also inspired by the "Temple of Ranma's seifuku" site.  
(It won't be the last time, either.) Frankly, though, I've had this idea floating in my head a  
long time before then, and had even written almost three chapters based on it... However,  
that was two years ago, and I never posted any of it. (If you think I'm a bad writer now, you  
should have seen me then.) But Poly gave me the idea to revise it, and, thanks to her, I have.  
  
I had, at first, intended for this idea to be a mega crossover; but the sheer size was daunting,  
and I never finished the third chapter, altogether making it 400Kb of wasted effort. So, now,  
it's not a mega crossover, and has a completely different plot. It's just a common Sailor  
Moon/Ranma 1/2 crossover, now.  
  
And, so, I give you one of my many planned stories that will make me the worst writer in  
existence! Bwahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa!  
  
Dark side of the moon  
By: Crescent Pulsar  
  
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One leap, followed by another, and yet another: this was Mars' current occupation as she  
rushed toward the source of evil.  
  
It had been an overall peaceful day (as were the prior weeks before it), but the evil that she  
felt in the distance prompted her to abandon her sweeping of the temple's grounds and  
search it out. Of course, no sooner had she transformed, had she alerted her fellow senshi  
and given the general coordinates of the evil's location.  
  
As she leapt from yet another rooftop, she wondered why trouble had to reinsert itself into  
their lives so soon. The fight for peace, she knew, would be an ongoing battle until the end  
of time. But couldn't it have wait until AFTER summer vacation was over, much less not so  
early in the morning?  
  
"This better not be something that'll take up TOO much time to defeat." She groused in  
thought. She did have some youth she wished to preserve, after all.  
  
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Chapter one - Part one: The Censure! hits the moon.  
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A certain pigtailed martial artist whistled idly as he walked along the top of a fence that  
overlooked the canal with his arms folded behind his head, intent on taking his leisurely time  
on his way to the empty lot.  
  
As you might have already guessed, he was once again on his way to answer one of  
Ryoga's challenges. And, as usual, the date for the dual had long since passed. In fact, this  
was Ranma's seventh day of routine inspections to see if Ryoga had arrived yet, which had  
started three days after the issued date on the challenge.  
  
Truth to tell, Ranma was beginning to get a little worried. Ryoga may be late all the time, but  
never by ten days. Sure, maybe he wasn't being detained by anything life-threatening (at  
least that's what he hoped), but he was nonetheless concerned. Despite his "friend's"  
vendetta, there was something that Ranma liked about him that, given time, helped to allay  
his anger toward him. As to what that was, well, that was anyone's guess: because he didn't  
know himself.  
  
His musings were interrupted by faint screams, which were soon followed by explosions and  
plumes of smoke not but two blocks away.  
  
"What in the hell's goin' on over there?" He wondered, forgetting about his fight with  
Ryoga (should he have been in the designated location) and ran towards the disturbance.  
Whatever was happening certainly couldn't be caused by anyone he knew, right?  
  
Unfortunately, he was correct. Skidding to a stop after rounding the last corner to his  
destination, he gawked, shocked at the sight before him.  
  
Okay, maybe he'd fought Pantyhose enough times to be confident enough to fight him  
without much thought, but THIS thing made him beyond cautious: he was downright  
petrified. Two, long, segmented horns protruded from its head, curved much like a ram's. Its  
body was monstrous, covered in black fur, and an equally black, leathery hide where such  
fur was absent. Muscles bulged to enormous proportions wherever muscle could be found,  
and his hands and feet, much like an ape's, seemed larger than normal. On its back, huge,  
bat-like wings could be found, adorned with knife-sized nails at the tips of each finger. Its  
face, though very much like Pantyhose's, was twisted into an ever-present scowl, with deep  
embers for eyes that looked out from the shadowy depths of its eye sockets.  
  
If Ranma were capable of thinking at this point and time, and had decided to make a  
comparison between the entity before him and the cursed form of Pantyhose, he'd've gladly  
fought a dozen of the latter before even THINKING of fighting the former. If anything, the  
demon before him could probably win most of its battles through intimidation alone.  
  
However, despite the apprehension he felt, his resolve to face the demon solidified as he  
watched it pick up a man who tried to run out of one of the stores, enveloping him in some  
kind of red energy before tossing him aside like a doll. The unfortunate victim met with a  
building's facade with a nauseating splat. It was then, as he watched the man crumple to the  
ground (having been morbidly transfixed by the gore he had witnessed), that he noticed  
others who had met a similar fate.  
  
"ENOUGH!" He yelled, grabbing the demon's attention. He doubted he had a chance of  
beating this... thing, but he'd be forever ashamed if he didn't try. One might be surprised if  
they knew such doubts, but, then again, whom was there that could read his mind, where  
such thoughts were never revealed aloud?  
  
His body tensed as the demon sprinted towards him, its hungry eyes unnerving him greatly.  
This was not his everyday, run-of-the-mill demon he fought on occasion. No; this one was  
dangerous, if those lifeless bodies littering the ground were any indication.  
  
When the demon was upon him, he jumped directly into its face, avoiding its grasp at the  
same time as he prepared to go straight into the use of his special techniques. And why  
not? It'd be foolish to test the waters against something so obviously evil and strong.  
  
"Kachu tenshin amaguriken!" He announced, his left fist striking the creature's head  
multiple times with all the strength he could muster behind it.  
  
The demon lumbered back against the onslaught, but was otherwise unfazed. In fact, it  
thoughtlessly threw its head forward, unconcerned about the impact a whole human body  
would make against it. This caught Ranma by complete surprise, who was barely fast  
enough to shield himself with his arms before impact.  
  
Sailing through the air, his forearms screaming in pain, Ranma knew he was outmatched  
even before he crashed through a window and several aisles of shelves in a movie rental  
shop. But that didn't stop him from standing up and running back out into the light of day,  
ready to give his all in hopes of defeating his enemy.  
  
The demon awaited him, and licked its chops as it made to grab him again. Ignoring the  
former (which was quite disconcerting), he dodged the giant hand (being slightly comforted  
at having a speed advantage), gathered his confidence, joined his hands at the base,  
extended them towards the target's face, and shouted: "Moko takabisha!"  
  
Ranma took the chance to leap back, distancing himself from his opponent to see the  
results, wondering if said opponent's inaction was a good sign.  
  
It wasn't. When the smoke cleared from its face, it was looking down at him with, if it were at  
all possible to tell (much less measure), a hunger bordering on lust. And he was startled  
when it spoke, its voice bellowing deep, rattling surrounding windows and vibrating his  
body ever-so-slightly. "YUMMMM..."  
  
Before he could respond, Ranma found himself crushed within the demon's grasp, who had  
taken the opportunity to take advantage of his distraction. Well, you'd be surprised if you  
blasted a demon in the face and had gotten such a response as this one had given. You'd  
expect them to be annoyed or something at the least.  
  
Not this one, though. And Ranma soon found out why as the red energy surrounded him,  
stripping him of his strength no sooner than it had appeared: the demon was absorbing his  
energy! He struggled, but the demon's grip was too strong for him to escape, and he was  
rapidly losing what energy he had for accomplishing such a feat.  
  
"Shishi hokodan!"  
  
Ranma's body was jarred as a ball of green energy impacted the wrist of the hand that held  
him, and, fortunately, the demon relinquished his grip as a result. Falling to his feet, he was  
too drained to stand just yet, and fell onto his bottom because of it. However, he was quite  
capable of turning his head to regard whom he expected to see a short distance aside from  
him: Ryoga.  
  
Ryoga, of course, wielded his umbrella in one hand after sending his energy blast, as well as  
a smirk on his face as he challenged the demon. "I won't allow you to kill Ranma: that's my  
privilege, and mine alone!" So proclaiming, he charged the demon with a battle cry.  
  
"Oh, my hero..." Ranma muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. Honestly; you'd think it'd  
take an "eye for an eye" to kill someone in revenge. Then again, that wouldn't work unless  
it was normal to become zombies, or ghosts, or something like that... It'd probably be best  
not to dwell on that, unless he really wanted a headache.  
  
Rising to his feet, having recovered from being drained to some extent, Ranma decided to  
attack while Ryoga had the demon's attention. Obviously, someone with more energy (at the  
moment) was worth paying more attention to. The question was: what could be done now?  
Throwing energy at it was the same as feeding it, and conventional attacks didn't seem to  
have much effect. The Hiryu shoten ha wouldn't be possible because of the demon's size  
and strength: not because the demon may be too heavy to lift or too strong to be effected,  
but because there would be no room to draw it into a spiral, and his shortage of strength  
wouldn't allow him to dodge very well, anyway.  
  
No sooner had he come to these conclusions, did the demon snatch Ryoga out of the air  
(who hadn't figured out that the demon was absorbing his energy blasts). "Ryoga!" He  
shouted, then leapt into the air, making an attempt to free his "friend" by attacking from  
behind.  
  
And was it ever an attempt: the demon, as if nonchalantly, spread its wings out and  
swatted him away by turning around. It didn't hurt much, the thin membrane of the wing  
that hit him being much softer than a skull, but sliding along the pavement, unable to right  
himself onto his feet as the friction quickly done away with the back of his shirt, was  
anything but pleasant. Going through a stream of water, which was caused by a busted fire  
hydrant that an overturned car rested over, wasn't particularly pleasing, either, and  
triggered his curse.  
  
Getting to her knees, she raised her head to see that Ryoga was in the process of being  
drained in much the same way that she had been. "Damn it!" She cursed, despairing over  
the realization that she couldn't do anything.  
  
And, so, she didn't even bother to rise to her feet, watching as Ryoga lost more and more of  
his strength to the demon, even as he futilely pounded on the hand that held him. But  
almost immediately she bowed her head and cracked the asphalt by slamming her fists  
against it, thinking desperately for a solution. Of course, only one thing came to mind: using  
what strength she had left to, at least, hope to save Ryoga (even at personal risk).  
  
So deciding, she jumped to her feet and dashed towards the demon, calling out: "Hey!  
Ugly!"  
  
"Who're you calling ugly!?" Ryoga retorted from his place within the demon's grasp. Said  
demon looked over its shoulder to regard her, and promptly snorted.  
  
"I wasn't talking to you, you idiot!" Ranma responded, exasperated, just before sliding  
between the demon's legs. Then, for the first time in all her years as a martial artist, she  
decided to implement a secret technique that was only to be used under the most desperate  
of circumstances: the Saotome's school of martial arts secret desperation attack: take the  
family jewels! "HAI-YA!"  
  
Time seemed to stand still as Ryoga stared at his rival's extended leg, which was currently  
embedded in the demon's groin. Ranma's head was turned away, one eye closed and the  
other partly so, that small part of her that was curious wanting to know just WHERE her foot  
had actually gone.  
  
And then time flowed freely again. Ranma landed on one foot, then proceeded to hop up  
and down on it as she clutched at her gallant one, which was smarting. Ryoga was released  
from his containment and was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground. The demon let  
out an ear-deafening howl of pain as it grasped its groin with both hands, tears pouring out  
from its void-like eyes.  
  
"Ranma!" Ryoga gasped, pointing at said person accusingly. "Have you no shame!?"  
  
Ranma glared in Ryoga's direction, hardly amused, and still relieving her offended foot from  
the ground. "I just saved you, pork butt!"  
  
Whatever respite they had gained by Ranma's... unscrupulous attack, it was wasted with  
words. Not only that, but it allowed the demon to backhand Ranma before she had a chance  
to raise a proper defense, and was sent crashing through a wall of a nearby building.  
  
"Mercury aqua rhapsody!" Was called out from above, startling Ryoga, who then  
witnessed a jet of water as it smashed into the side of the demon's head. The demon was  
knocked off balance and fell onto its side, but soon returned to its feet and turned its gaze to  
the figure standing atop a building, forgetting about its former captive as its eyes settled  
upon its next victim.  
  
Sailor Mercury, who was the first and only to arrive at the scene as of yet, frowned down at  
the boy who remained standing beside the demon, whom she thought would have enough  
sense to run to safety. "Run!" She shouted. "While I have it distracted!"  
  
Run? Ryoga? Never!  
  
...  
  
Well, maybe a brief retreat to await a second wind. So, he ran across the street and entered  
the building Ranma had been hit through, using the entrance she had involuntarily made. It  
wasn't that he was concerned about her, it was just a matter of making sure she was alive so  
he could kill her later himself.  
  
As he heard that strange girl yell that attack of hers again, he found his rival lying in what  
remained of a toilet and its stall in some restaurant's restroom...  
  
"Where am I?" Ranma wondered, puzzled by her surroundings. All around she found  
nothing but whiteness, in the form of feathers, stars, moons, hearts and various styles and  
patterns of cloth; and she just knew what fabrics the lattermost were. Also, the background  
was opalescent, often casting the colors of the rainbow onto the white objects around her. It  
was quite pretty, if she did say so herself.  
  
"What am I THINKING!?" She questioned herself. Guys didn't describe things as... Hold on;  
technically, she was a girl at the moment, and no one seemed to be around, so... Nothing to  
worry about!  
  
Still, where on earth was she? Was she dead?  
  
"You're in a dream, princess."  
  
"Who's there!?" She exclaimed in alarm, looking about herself for an unknown quarry.  
  
It took a moment for her to register what exactly was said, mostly due to being disoriented  
by the constant weightlessness she was experiencing. When she did, though, she  
demanded: "And who're you callin' a princess!?"  
  
"Why, you, of course."  
  
The slight breeze around her shifted direction, to the west (she could tell somehow), and it  
was warm and pleasant. Willing herself to turn about so she could face the movement of the  
wind, she yelped in surprise when she found a miniature version of herself directly before  
her face. But that couldn't be her! Maybe she had her cobalt blue eyes, vibrant red hair,  
creamy white skin, as well as her figure and short stature; but there was no WAY she'd ever  
wear that getup!  
  
The getup in question was a black, formfitting body suit with white ribbons tied into bows  
over her bosom and at the small of her back (the former bearing a shiny black gem at its  
center). There was a white, sunburst-pleated miniskirt, that proudly displayed her thighs in  
abundance. Her feet and calves were encased in black, knee-length boots with two-inch  
heels, the top of each tipped with a small band of white. Also, her hands were fitted with  
black gloves that ended around the wrist, where the cuff extended away and removed itself  
from contact with her skin with a small band of white encircling the end. The sailor collar  
was white with three black stripes along and near the hem, and the choker around her neck  
was black. In her ears were dangling earrings, with black, crescent moons hanging from  
pearls. Across her temple was a golden tiara with a small, black gem gleaming in its center.  
Finally, her fanny-length hair was tied with a black bow at the base of her braid.  
  
"Wh-who're you?" She managed to stammer out, feeling quite awkward in a situation she  
had never experienced, much less having any idea as to how she should respond to it.  
  
"I'm you, silly!" Her mini-self replied, giggling. She hadn't noticed before, but her voice was  
very pleasant to hear, a light and sweet soprano if she ever heard one. Did she really sound  
like that?  
  
"But... How can that be?" She asked, confused. Wasn't she a man? And what was up with  
her attire, not to mention diminutive size?  
  
Ever smiling, her mini-self genially answered: "I am a spiritual representation of your heart,  
and what you see before you is a former incarnation that has been awakened in you. The  
day you fell into the nyannichuan, was the day you reclaimed the body and memories of  
your past self." She leaned forward, a curious look on her face. "Don't tell me you never  
noticed?"  
  
Ranma shook her head, hardly comprehending what had just been explained to her. "Notice  
what?" She asked. Was she saying that she was a girl in a past life, and the nyannichuan  
had made her that girl?  
  
"Concentrate." Was her mini-self's simple reply, remaining patient.  
  
Even more confounded now, Ranma regarded her in puzzlement. "Concentrate on what?"  
She wondered in thought. Maybe... She did say something about memories from her past  
life... Was that it?  
  
Concentrating on memories she didn't even know she had, closing her eyes and clearing her  
mind in the process, she was finally aware of how calm she was in the place she found  
herself at and that being nude hadn't even bothered her nor seem important. Also, her  
thought processes were working perfectly, everything coming and going freely and clearly.  
How strange.  
  
What was even more strange, was the sudden realization of what her mini-self was referring  
to. She had thought back to the day she had been cursed, but, for some unknown reason,  
she had just now noticed how different she was before taking her fateful plunge. In her  
search for the memories that belonged to her past life, she had instead found some from her  
current one and, in all honesty, did not like what she found.  
  
She, before the plunge, was very much like her father in almost every way. And, despite not  
having any experience with girls, she knew she'd've been confident enough to... get what  
she wanted out of her girlfriends. She was so arrogant, so thoughtless and selfish... How  
could she have not noticed the changes (the lack of confidence, thoughtlessness and  
selfishness) after being cursed? She should have been confident when she first met the  
Tendo's, and would have picked Kasumi since she seemed so docile and easy to manipulate.  
  
God! Would she have really done that? Yes... Yes, she would have. But the curse, or rather  
the blessing, had seemingly mixed her personality with that of her past incarnation's, and  
made such an occurrence impossible. She wasn't sure how she knew, but an unknown  
intuition told her that she was absolutely correct.  
  
So, the Ranma that was carried into the Tendo's lives (literally), was more timid and  
conscientious, more selfless and open to learning. However, depending on the  
circumstances, the better or worse aspects of her personality could be drawn out and be  
more dominant.  
  
Opening her eyes to gaze at her mini-self, she was given a bouncy nod and a radiant smile.  
"That's right." She was told, answering her unasked question.  
  
"But... Why?" She inquired, then hastily added: "Not that I'm complainin' or nothin'."  
  
And why not complain? From her viewpoint at this point and time, she hated her former self.  
Perhaps she wouldn't have such an opinion of herself if no changes to her personality were  
made, but how could she have lived with herself treating people even worse than her father?  
Moreover, why had she not noticed before: that she was different?  
  
"Beats me!" Came the cheery reply, causing Ranma to look at her oddly. Then, shrugging,  
she said: "I'm a part of you that you never used in your past incarnation, so I'm about as  
much in the dark as you are. However..."  
  
"However?" Ranma inquired intently, taking the bait.  
  
"However, the reason for us meeting together like this at long last, is because your 'heart'  
yearns for the capability to do good, to protect others from evil, much like the monstrosity  
that defeated you."  
  
"I wasn't defeated." Ranma grumbled, looking down and blushing. "I'm just taking a  
breather, okay?"  
  
"Whatever you say." Her mini-self replied, amused. "Either way, it's your choice to unlock  
your heritage and memories. As your guardian, I've come in your time of need, and in  
response to the call of destiny. The choice is up to you."  
  
"Waitaminute!" Ranma blurted abruptly. "Heritage? Guardian? Destiny? What're you talking  
about?"  
  
With an impish little grin, her "guardian" cryptically said: "Now THAT... is a secret!" She  
was waggling her finger at her.  
  
Ranma, for lack of a better word, was not amused. In fact, she was quite miffed, and her  
facial expression demonstrated so.  
  
Sighing forlornly, her guardian allowed her limbs to hang languidly, and, with a pout, said:  
"You're no fun, at all."  
  
Feeling a little apologetic, though still serious, Ranma softly stated: "I'm sorry. But I don't  
understand what's going on, and I've had enough problems caused by jumping into the  
unknown before, you know?"  
  
"I do." Her guardian replied, smiling slightly. "I'm you, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, about that..." Ranma spoke, trailing off, hoping to elicit certain information.  
  
"Well..." Her guardian began thoughtfully, tapping an index finger against her chin. "Every  
living thing has a star seed: the planets, the animals, you, and every other creature in the  
cosmos. That's the part of you that I represent, but I'm no ordinary star seed. You see,  
certain star seeds are special, and they are called sailor crystals."  
  
"What's a sailor crystal?" Ranma interjected.  
  
"Don't interrupt!" Her guardian snapped, glaring balefully.  
  
"Okay, okay!" Ranma quickly acquiesced. And she thought Akane was capricious!  
  
Clearing her throat, her guardian continued in a lecturing tone. "Anyway, a sailor crystal  
draws power from certain planets or celestial objects, in order to protect them. You, princess,  
are one of two who have a moon crystal; or so it was, anyway. Your sister relinquished her  
ties with the moon, gradually, by adapting the Silver crystal as her source of power, her  
existence. Your destiny lies on a similar path, to allow a new moon crystal to be born."  
  
Ranma didn't understand much of the information at all, but she did manage to catch a few  
interesting words as she had done once before. "Princess? Sister?" Her face contorted into  
a vision of pure complexity. Since when did she have a sister? And how could she be a  
princess? She was particularly surprised at not being disturbed by such feminine titles.  
  
"All sailor crystals are considered royalty." Her guardian explained. "But you were also born  
a noble in your past incarnation where you had a twin sister, who has been reincarnated as  
you have."  
  
"I... see..." Ranma mumbled slowly, trying to make sense of everything she had learned thus  
far and only succeeding marginally.  
  
For reasons she wouldn't share with her charge, the guardian of Ranma's sailor crystal softly  
said: "I apologize, but I must go now."  
  
"But... But I have so many things to ask!" Ranma implored, growing worried. "Wh-what do I  
do? What do I do with my sailor crystal? What do I do with my sister? How will this effect  
my current life?" She was practically pleading as she said: "Please! Tell me!"  
  
Her guardian regarded her with compassion in response to her tearing eyes, and softly  
explained: "You must make the decision, princess. Your heart is your key; feel it, follow it,  
allow it to guide you in the right direction. You can continue with your old life, or venture  
into a new world of learning and growth. Making the transition, should you decide to follow  
that path, will not be easy. Choose..." She began to fade away as she retreated into a source  
of light that grew ever brighter. "Until, perhaps, we meet again..."  
  
Ranma shielded her eyes with her arms as she was blinded by a flash of light, as it  
encompassed everything and yet nothing...  
  
Groaning, her body aching from the blow that had been incurred by the demon, Ranma  
opened her eyes and focused on the blurry shadow that stood in front of the portal of light  
(which was the hole in the wall).  
  
"Good; I see you've managed to survive, Ranma." Came a condescending voice from the  
shadowy figure, that Ranma quickly recognized as Ryoga's.  
  
"Shove it, Ryoga." She replied sourly, wincing at the pain she felt as she sat up, several  
shards of porcelain cutting her. "The least you could do is show some gratitude."  
  
Ryoga snorted, turning his head away as he said: "I didn't ask for your help. I almost had  
myself free when you butt in."  
  
Ranma was tempted to argue, but decided against it. There was a demon to take care of,  
regardless of her physical condition, and she was determined to fight it until the end.  
  
Clambering to her feet, the act quite painstaking, her thoughts focused on that dream she  
had. It felt like it had happened to somebody else, as she had acted somewhat differently  
(she decided), but she was certain it had been her that had been the recipient of the dream.  
  
And what a dream! If she hardly understood anything whilst she dreamed, she hadn't a clue  
as the dream faded from her conscious memory. She could remember key elements that had  
caught her immediate attention in the dream, as well as the end of it; but that was about it.  
  
"What're you doing?" Ryoga inquired, watching as his rival leaned against the remaining  
partition of the stall for support.  
  
She turned her head to regard the eternally lost boy, a "you've got to be kidding me" look  
on her face. "What do you think?" She asked rhetorically. "I'm going back out there to fight  
that thing."  
  
"HA!" Ryoga exclaimed, his mocking tone nettling Ranma almost instantly. "You couldn't  
do anything before, and now you can barely stand!"  
  
"I didn't see you do any better!" Ranma stated crossly, wishing she had the strength to  
pound that arrogant bastard's head in.  
  
But he was right about one thing: she was quite unsteady on her feet. There was no chance  
of her fighting now, as she would be just as vulnerable as any other normal person who  
crossed the demon's path.  
  
"Jupiter oak revolution!" This was followed by an explosion and an enraged outcry from  
none other than the demon.  
  
"What's going on out there?" Ranma wondered aloud, gazing out the hole in the tiled wall.  
  
"You mean... You don't know?" Ryoga queried carefully, signs of disbelief creeping across  
his visage.  
  
"Venus love and beauty shock!" And it sounded like the demon was shocked to find that it  
wasn't very lovely at all.  
  
Glaring at Ryoga, ill-humored, Ranma pointedly said: "I was unconscious, remember?"  
  
Ryoga blinked a few consecutive times, regarding her silently for a few seconds, before  
bursting out at the seams with laughter. How could anyone be ignorant of the senshi?  
  
Ranma was visibly steaming, and wished she could put her foot where the sun didn't shine;  
but she wouldn't be able to do that to Ryoga after injuring her one foot doing that groin  
attack, and wouldn't be able to stand on it if she lost support by using the other to do the  
job.  
  
"I don't need this crap!" Ranma thought, miffed. So thinking, she stumbled towards the exit  
she had installed earlier against her will. Maybe she couldn't fight the demon, but she could  
certainly leave the company of that annoying jackass.  
  
Grabbing ahold of the wall for support, she stood within the hole and stared wide-eyed at  
the sight of color-coded cheerleaders as they wove around the demon, seeming to distract it  
with proximity of numbers while another separated from the group undetected.  
  
"Mars flame sniper!" And the lone cheerleader fired an arrow of flame, striking the demon  
from behind and knocking it to the ground. Much of its hair was singed.  
  
The other three quickly took the opportunity to unleash their own attacks while the demon  
was prostrate.  
  
"Venus love and beauty shock!"  
  
"Mercury aqua rhapsody!"  
  
"Jupiter oak revolution!"  
  
Ranma gaped, amazed at the display of power she was witnessing. Who were they!? And  
what were those attacks that they were using, that the demon couldn't absorb? If she had  
attacks like those, then she'd have no problem taking out the stupid demon herself.  
  
When the smoke from the attack cleared, the demon picked itself up from the floor of the  
crater and shook its head, clearing it of the disorientation the blasts of those attacks had  
induced. Then, turning her attention to the cheerleader in red, she found her yelling to  
nobody in particular as she pressed an index finger onto the stud of her earring. She was too  
far away to understand what she was saying despite her yelling, but it was obvious that she  
was quite unhappy.  
  
Again, Ranma wondered who they were. Did they associate with... What was her name...  
Mariko something... Well, did they associate with whomever she was thinking of? That  
would explain the strange names of their attacks, and why they resembled cheerleaders. But  
where were their batons, or pompoms? "Still, they won't be able to defeat the demon by  
themselves." She observed privately.  
  
Which was why she had to do something. She had a score to settle with that demon,  
anyway; so she thought that she deserved to bring it down herself. But how; knowing full  
well her incapability of walking a straight line, much less fight?  
  
"Choose..." Echoed in the background of her thoughts, startling her slightly. Then it  
dawned on her! These cheerleaders looked like her guardian! Maybe they weren't  
cheerleaders (not that that mattered), then? But they were undoubtedly suited for battling  
energy-eating demons, and were powerful to boot. Just what kind of attacks do they use,  
anyway? As she watched the orange-colored "cheerleader" use her attack, she noticed that  
there was no reaction from her senses, and couldn't find a trace of a ki signature.  
  
Ryoga, by now, had suppressed his laughter and joined his rival's side within the hole;  
although his attention was on said rival, and not the girls fighting the demon outside. "You  
really don't know who they are?"  
  
Ranma looked askance and, seeing that Ryoga seemed more curious than ready-to-tease,  
she answered by giving him a light shake of her head in the negative, before asking: "Who  
are they?" And then she continued to watch the mysterious girls fight.  
  
"They're the sailor senshi." Ryoga answered simply, turning his attention to the fight. "I'm  
surprised you never heard of them."  
  
"Sailor senshi..." Ranma worded quietly, too low for Ryoga to hear over the din of battle.  
There was that "sailor" word, from her dream. And these senshi were no doubt protectors,  
as her guardian had said they would be, with their planets being declared with each attack.  
Was she to be like them?  
  
Reviewing the remnants of her dream, she realized that this was the choice that she was to  
make: whether to be, or not to be, a senshi. She could be a protector, one capable of  
defeating the sort of demon that those girls now confronted.  
  
Girls? Yes... All of them were girls; not powerful, musclebound men in spandex with mighty  
swords or some other weapon of justice, but innocent, seemingly fragile girls... And they  
wielded a power she could only dream of having. Sure, she was good, but even she could  
tell that the four senshi had her beat in all but her livelihood: her skill as a martial artist.  
  
But she had a sailor crystal, didn't she? Couldn't she use the same power and defeat that  
demon? Well, she didn't know if she would be able to defeat it (seeing as the other four  
couldn't accomplish that with all of their power combined), but she hoped that she would be  
able to accomplish such a feat. The only question remaining, was: how to go about  
becoming a senshi.  
  
She pondered for a few moments, continuing to watch the battle as Ryoga did. Then, after  
catching a glimpse of one of the senshi's brooches, she remembered an aspect of her dream  
that held the answer she was looking for. She had to use her heart, as her guardian had told  
her that her heart was the key; that she should follow it, and allow it to guide her in the right  
direction. Well, she knew exactly what she wanted, so now it was only a matter of acquiring  
it.  
  
Closing her eyes, blocking out all the outside disturbances, she began to search out her  
heart blindly, not knowing how to find it. It seemed obvious that she should concentrate on  
the beating organ in her chest, but she knew better, through training and meditation, that  
not all things are to be taken literally when told to focus or use something that one couldn't  
hope to focus on or use through conventional means.  
  
The search was, to her relief and delight, short. No sooner had she started, had her heart  
been drawn to her desire to accept her role as a senshi, her pure intentions a shining beacon  
for her heart to use as a guide, so as to find her and make contact. The contact nearly stole  
her mental breath away; it was so warm and comforting, suffusing her whole body as it  
seemed to breeze right through her from a westerly direction... Just like in her dream, when  
her guardian arrived!  
  
Glancing over at Ranma, Ryoga was shocked to find her illuminated in a hazy, white glow,  
her hair and clothing being swept about wildly by a nonexistent gale. Also, by the serene  
expression on her face, he almost mistook her for someone else. Ranma? That content and  
cute? Not a chance!  
  
...  
  
"What in the hell am I thinking!?" Ryoga exclaimed in thought, wanting but unable to turn  
away from the sight before him. It was no wonder he so easily became attracted to Ranma  
whenever she was in disguise: she was quite lovely when she actually appeared to be a girl.  
  
"R-Ranma...?" He addressed uncomfortably, though still intently, in hopes of getting an  
answer for what was happening.  
  
Ranma was too engrossed with the energy that lie dormant behind a never-before-opened  
"door" to register Ryoga's voice, delighting in the knowledge that, despite not knowing  
what the key to opening the "door" was consciously, she could confidently open it by  
using an instinctive withdrawal from her subconscious. And that's exactly what she did.  
Clasping both hands over her physical heart, she announced: "Moon prism power, make  
up!"  
  
She was instantly consumed with the unfamiliar power when she unleashed it, feeling it  
dissolve her clothing and wrap about her body. Her heart raced, as the power swelled into  
an accessible reservoir beyond its enclosure; and her injuries were healed, relieving her of  
the pain. She soon felt her modesty returned to her, as she could feel some formfitting attire  
encase her torso, legs, hands and neck; and something cold and metallic graced her temple.  
And the power did more, but she could not readily tell what the finishing touches were: only  
that the new power was as much a part of her as her life energy, now.  
  
When her induction into senshihood was through, she was left feeling exhilarated,  
pleasantly warm, and refreshed. She felt light on her feet, clear of mind, and confident  
enough to conquer anything; and conquer something she would.  
  
Reintroducing her eyes to the light of day again, her curiosity influenced her to glance down  
at herself, and she gasped in amazement when she did so: she was wearing the same getup  
her guardian wore! Inspecting herself more thoroughly, she found that everything was  
exactly as she remembered it in her dream. Well, after pulling her pigtail over her shoulder for  
a look, it was easy to tell that it wasn't any longer than usual (not that she was concerned).  
  
Then, remembering about a certain bandanna-clad boy, she looked beside her and found...  
empty space. Casting her eyes downward, she found her quarry lying on the ground, a trail  
of blood trickling from his nose and a goofy grin plastered on his face. He was, of course,  
insensible. Realizing how Ryoga had come to be in that state, she giggled and said: "Serves  
ya right, bacon breath."  
  
"I can't believe dumpling head had to be sick today, of all days!" Ranma's right ear perked  
up upon catching. Turning aside to see what was happening, she managed to get her first  
close-up view of the red-colored senshi as she leapt into the air and away from her close  
proximity to her... Showing off her bottom in the process, and making her blush furiously.  
  
Overcoming her embarrassment, she awaited the best opportunity to intrude and have a  
rematch with that demon (so she didn't jump right into an attack the other senshi couldn't  
rein in). Seeing it, she dashed out into the open and made her intentions known, yelling:  
"Hey! Ugly!" She hoped that, by repeating her earlier insult, it would catch the demon off  
guard (as well as arrest the attention of the other senshi so they'd cease whatever strategy  
they were still in the process of employing).  
  
The demon barely spared her a glance over its shoulder before returning its attention to the  
orange-colored senshi, but suddenly spun around in a hurry to face an opponent worthy of  
its concern (now that it realized): a senshi making a direct attack. It made the mistake of  
classifying the owner of the voice as weak (since it had defeated the owner of said voice  
before), so it realized, only too late, that it had allowed the new senshi time to get right into  
its face before it could properly react to the threat.  
  
Grinning in triumph, glad that her voice hadn't warranted any attention from the demon (and  
had actually worked as a distraction), she gave the demon her knuckle sandwich special  
right in the nose. The demon's feet flew right out from under it as its head retreated and  
slammed into the asphalt with a window-shattering thud.  
  
The four inner senshi gaped, shocked by the new senshi's display of physical prowess.  
  
Before the demon could recover, Ranma grabbed it by one of its pinkie toes (the others  
being too big for her small hands) and began to heave it up into the air, swing it in an arch,  
and then slam it down onto the asphalt. She repeated these motions a few dozen times.  
  
The senshi continued to gape.  
  
Brushing off her hands when she was finished, Ranma looked down at her work with  
satisfaction. The demon was now lying face down in a hole that was shaped much like itself,  
one of its legs twitching every now and again. Not one to leave a job half done, she decided  
to use a technique that was only available to her as a senshi, one that came to mind as  
naturally as one would expect from someone who had used it many times previous.  
  
"Moon tiara action!" Throwing her tiara like a frisbee, it quickly spun fast enough with the  
aid of magic to appear as a solid disk, passing through the demon's neck without apparent  
trouble. And so the demon perished, dissolving into nothing, and Ranma was proud of a job  
well done. She then glanced up, surprised that her tiara reappeared on her head without  
having to retrieve it and do it herself. That, in her opinion, was quite convenient.  
  
At hearing the name and seeing the sight of one of sailor Moon's trademark attacks, the  
inner senshi regained their senses and cautiously approached the redheaded senshi as a  
group. Ranma allowed this, waiting patiently as she wondered how to respond to them.  
Would she become a member of their team, become friends or, at least, become  
acquaintances?  
  
The senshi whose dominant color was orange, who had thigh-length blonde hair that was  
accessorized in the back by a red bow, stepped ahead of the others and asked: "We  
appreciate the help, but that attack you used... Who are you?"  
  
Ranma crossed her arms and frowned, making her displeasure about their offhanded offense  
known to them. They seemed inclined to being civil, but she knew they were suspicious  
about something... And she's had enough suspicion in her life already. Why do so many  
people distrust her? Outside of battle she rarely lied, and it was the movement of her body,  
and not her mouth, that was deceptive most of the time even then. If they were going to be  
like everyone else, then why care about them, much less be friendly toward them?  
  
"What's it to ya?" She counter-questioned in a defensive tone.  
  
"Sorry," The senshi in blue spoke up in apology, realizing they had to tread more softly with  
the, to all appearances, new senshi. "But you must understand that another senshi utilizes  
the same title for her attack." As for whom, she remained vague, being precautious about  
what information to divulge.  
  
"So?" Ranma argued indifferently. "That's what came to mind, so that's what I said."  
  
The senshi in red opened her mouth in preparation to reply, but was interrupted by a raspy  
"Hey guys!" from above. Everyone turned to look up at the new arrival, who stood atop and  
on the ledge of a two-story electronic appliances shop. She didn't appear to be feeling well,  
if her facial expression and the arm resting over her stomach was any indication.  
  
"What did I miss?" The new arrival questioned, looking about herself and finding the  
immediate area (most especially the road) moderately damaged. The motion made her  
unsteady on her shaky legs, and she began to lurch forward. Unable to regain her balance  
while flailing her arms up and down, she wailed as she toppled toward the ground.  
  
The inner senshi, having much experience with their princess and her clumsy behavior, were  
more than ready to catch her. However, they weren't ready for the blur that was the new  
senshi, who arrived below their princess before her feet left contact with the roof of the  
building and eventually caught her and placed her gently on the ground.  
  
"You okay?" Ranma asked, despite the answer being obvious. She hadn't known what a  
senshi was, much less know they exist, but she could tell the girl she knelt before was one.  
Even so, she wondered why this one looked so different. What made her that way? Did it  
represent her status, strength or capabilities? And those wings; were they even capable of  
performing their purpose, or just there for looks or something?  
  
"Oh, I just have a stomach virus..." Usagi replied, then paused when she realized the voice  
was unfamiliar to her ears. Looking up, she found the face of a stranger, one with fiery red  
hair and... blue eyes? Yes... But there was something about them... Something familiar.  
  
Ranma felt really uncomfortable under her scrutiny, and so avoided eye contact with her.  
"You have my, um, sympathy." She answered, uncertain as to what to say.  
  
"Who are you?" Usagi inquired, wondering who the new senshi was. All the senshi of their  
solar system were accounted for, weren't they? Other senshi from elsewhere had different  
dress codes to represent their systems, but this one was undeniably under theirs. Besides  
the sun (which no one knew whether a senshi could be tied to or not), what senshi could the  
one before her possibly be?  
  
"That's what we were trying to find out." Came a voice from beside them. Both Usagi and  
Ranma looked aside and found the other senshi walking up to them, and soon stopping a  
few feet away. Usagi noticed that it was Makoto whom had spoken, who continued, saying:  
"She used your 'moon tiara action' attack." Then added: "And I thought that we all had our  
own unique attacks for a reason." The others nodded afterward, agreeing with her.  
  
"Isn't that my weakest attack?" Usagi questioned, unable to concentrate too well because  
she was more concerned about the watering of her mouth, and the feeling that she was  
going to unload her stomach of its contents again. Besides, why should she be worried  
about something so trivial? So what if someone else was throwing their tiara around.  
  
Rei, exasperated, said: "Of course it's your attack! Aren't you paying attention?"  
  
"But I'm not feeling good..." Usagi whined in her defense, bringing Ranma to support her,  
who said: "Yeah; so stop making her feel worse."  
  
"And who were you, again?" Minako asked sweetly, all smiles, bending over to be at eye  
level with the new senshi. Ranma recoiled a bit at the intrusion of her personal space, but  
was even more discomforted by the subject of her identity being returned to the spotlight.  
  
Placing her hand behind her head, and smiling nervously, Ranma replied: "Just your  
everyday cheerleader... Nobody special... Ha-ha-ha!"  
  
"'Cheerleader?'" Makoto echoed and placing arms akimbo, sounding offended. You wouldn't  
catch her wearing a cheerleader's uniform unless it was ASOLUTELY necessary for  
infiltration and disposal of an enemy. To insinuate that she was wearing such an outfit was  
the same as asking for a broken nose.  
  
In the background, Ami sighed to herself, knowing they'd lost the chance of finding out the  
new senshi's name... for now. Oh, well; leaving it up to those with little tact results in such  
failures as this. When next they have a meeting, she will be sure to brief them about it.  
  
"Well, yeah." Ranma replied, sounding as if it were common knowledge. "A weird-looking  
cheerleader, I admit; but not too weird if I had a baton or some pompoms."  
  
Makoto was visibly mad, now. It was bad enough to say she was wearing a cheerleader  
outfit, but a weird one, too? Fortunately, Rei pulled her aside and, looking down at the new  
senshi, emphatically stated: "Look, all we want to know, is who you are. It's not going to kill  
you to share that much, will it?"  
  
"I s'pose not." Ranma sighed in resignation, then stood up and crossed her arms loosely to  
seem more impressive, smirking proudly as she said: "I'm Dark side."  
  
The other senshi blinked, then simultaneously queried: "'Dark side?'"  
  
"Of the moon." Ranma helpfully supplied. Seeing that they were staring at her mutely in  
response, she asked: "What?"  
  
"Um..." Usagi began uncertainly as she picked herself up from the ground, placing a hand  
over her chest to indicate herself. "I'm Eternal sailor moon." And she really, REALLY wanted  
to go back home and spend some time with a porcelain bowl. Not that she wanted to, but  
what better place was there to release your vomit in?  
  
"Oh..." Ranma voiced in response, not knowing what else to do. At least she now knew the  
reason for them being cautious around her, representing the same celestial object and all.  
She guessed that it must be more from being an unknown element, or else they would have  
expected her to discover her heritage (as her guardian put it) eventually.  
  
The other senshi soon introduced themselves in turn since she had finally revealed herself,  
but no personal identifications were given just yet. She didn't know how to greet them, or  
even if she should try to get acquainted, so she just nodded as they each identified  
themselves by their respective planets: Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. She absently  
wondered where the rest were.  
  
"Well," Ami started, somewhat surprised at finding out the new senshi's identity since she  
was sure they had upset her in some fashion in the beginning and had ruined the chance of  
learning it. "We all agree that we've never heard of Dark side of the moon?" All present,  
except Ami and Ranma, voiced their agreement. Ranma remained silent, wondered what was  
happening now. Were they questioning her station? "Then perhaps we should ask Luna  
and Artemis. They'd know if she was present during the Silver millennium."  
  
Ranma didn't know what the "Silver millennium" was, but she found herself interested in this  
"Artemis" person. Somehow, and for some unknown reason, the name sounded familiar.  
  
"Luna!" Usagi croaked out, wishing she was within the comfort of her home so she could  
avoid vomiting in front of her friends and suffering embarrassment. "It's okay to come out  
now!"  
  
Searching with her eyes, Ranma didn't find anyone approaching within her line of sight.  
Soon, however, she found out why when a new voice spoke up from the ground nearby,  
asking: "So, who is this? Another senshi?" Luna was a cat! Beside her was another one, and  
they were both scrutinizing her! Wait a minute; did one of them just SPEAK!?  
  
"We were hoping you'd know." Ami answered Luna, who turned to face the senshi of  
Mercury with a pensive look on her face. Artemis was the only one to leave his attention on  
the new senshi, who began to inch away stealthily, maintaining eye contact with him.  
  
"Um, guys?" Artemis spoke up, interrupting Luna's thoughts.  
  
"What is it, Artemis?" Luna replied as she turned to regard him, sounding and looking  
annoyed.  
  
Nodding his head in the direction of the departing redheaded senshi, he said: "Seems our  
guest is leaving early."  
  
All turned to discover that Artemis was right. Ranma, who found herself caught, laughed  
nervously while rubbing the back of her head in agitation. She wasn't too surprised, though:  
that white cat HAD kept an eye on her, after all.  
  
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Rei petulantly demanded, hands on hips. Ami  
shook her head disapprovingly, wondering why she didn't take charge and handle the  
situation as it should have been handled.  
  
"Um..." Ranma voiced, looking about wildly as she tried to conceive a believable excuse for  
her need to vacate the area. She didn't want them to know of her acute ailurophobia for  
several reasons, so she wasn't about to stick around so they could find out. Becoming  
desperate for something to say after a moment without a forthcoming answer, she hastily  
resorted to saying: "Oh, look at the time! I've seemed to've forgotten a... previous  
engagement! Yeah, that's it! See ya!" And she was off and away!  
  
"Don't just stand there!" Luna chided the others, who had yet to understand the new  
senshi's behavior as they stood, unmoving, unprepared to give chase. "After her!"  
  
And, so, they gave chase (though Usagi was quite reluctant even after Luna chomped on  
her ankle as an incentive). Usagi had to catch up with the others, so she was the only one  
who didn't have visual contact of their quarry. Fortunately, because she could see her  
comrades, she was able to follow the progress of the chase without getting lost. Still, all the  
jumping around wasn't making her feel any better, and she really wished that demon had  
shown itself on another day.  
  
Looking behind her and seeing that the others were giving chase, Ranma wondered why  
these sort of things always happened to her. What had she ever done to deserve being  
chased? In any case, she had to lose them and get back home, so she could relax and reflect  
on what had happened to her this day.  
  
After several minutes of thought, running and jumping in random directions so the senshi  
behind her wouldn't know the direction of the residence she lived at, she decided that the  
only way to shake them was to literally disappear from their sight. She did wonder how they  
managed to find her even after giving them the slip (or so she had thought), because she  
was sure her expertly-performed evasive maneuvers would elude all but the old ghoul and  
freak.  
  
Little did she know that Ami was leading the group with her visor, which was homing on her  
life and magical energies. It had saved them from losing her a dozen times, and they knew  
that, without it, they would have surely lost the new senshi. However, they did have it, and  
Ami was doing her best to not lose her concentration because the life energy read-out on  
the new senshi was very large in supply compared to normal. It was nearly as high as her  
magical energy!  
  
Ahead of the inner senshi, who were followed by Usagi, Luna and Artemis, Ranma cursed  
when she failed to shake her pursuers; even after using all her umisen-ken training to hide  
her life energy (or ki) while dashing from one place to another, as she made sure to keep her  
momentum as fast as ever so she could be nigh untraceable to the naked eye. It seemed to  
improve her situation a little, but it was evident that her quick pace wasn't quick enough to  
not be seen; and to appear invisible she had to constantly move in a zigzag pattern because  
staying in one's direct line of sight (which would be caused by running in one direction in  
this case) would not give the effect she wanted. So, no matter how fast she moved, she was  
making it impossible for herself to increase the distance between her and her followers  
(which hadn't made a difference in the first place).  
  
However, as her thoughts turned to other ways of making those chasing her lose sight of  
her, something directed her attention to the new energy source enveloping her ki field.  
Somehow, she knew she could change it and use it for a different purpose, a purpose she  
was more in need of for the time being: literally making herself invisible. She didn't know if it  
would work, but she had the feeling that it would; being a senshi seems to instill such  
instincts.  
  
"She's disappearing!" Makoto gasped, witnessing the red-haired senshi fade from sight as  
the other three did.  
  
"Don't worry!" Ami assured them. The life energy of the senshi they were pursuing might  
not be registering on her visor, but she could still detect the magical signature as before,  
and could, thus, continue to follow it. "Just listen for..." She ceased her instructions and  
abruptly shouted: "Go right!" The others got the hint, and proceeded to follow the senshi of  
Mercury as she guided them towards a now-invisible senshi.  
  
"Damn it!" Ranma swore after a few more minutes of being chased, wondering how they (the  
senshi behind her) managed to keep track of her. Glancing behind her, she finally noticed  
how Mercury (as she introduced herself as) pointed in her direction whenever she changed  
course, and that she was the only one wearing a visor of some kind.  
  
Not knowing what else to do, she decided that her only place of sanctuary would be at her  
home. So concluding, she ceased being invisible since it was obviously making no  
difference, and made a beeline for the Tendo domicile. Hopefully, the senshi following her  
would respect her and not invade her place of residence.  
  
Upon landing in the backyard a short time later, she dashed into the veranda and hid herself  
behind its outer wall, standing rigid and quiet as she hoped for the withdrawal of her  
pursuers.  
  
Outside, standing along the top of the perimeter wall, four senshi took in the sight of the  
house that the red-haired senshi had taken into hiding.  
  
"Should we follow?" Minako asked Ami, her breathing labored by exertion just as the  
others' were.  
  
"No." Ami responded simply, subdued.  
  
"Why not?" Rei asked, eyeing Ami questioningly.  
  
It was Makoto who spoke next, answering Rei's question with a statement. "It's her home,  
isn't it?" She could tell because of several factors: firstly, Ami made it clear not to follow the  
new senshi; secondly, the new senshi had tried to hide in random houses before going   
DIRECTLY to this particular one; and lastly, the new senshi relinquished her invisibility  
before doing so, as if giving up.  
  
"Oh..." Rei and Minako voiced together in understanding. If they breached such a personal  
place, what would that make them look like? Actually, it was bad enough chasing her like a  
hunted animal, though they hardly knew how else to respond to the new senshi's strange  
behavior after Luna issued the pursuit. Currently, though, they found their actions unwise,  
and it probably cost them a great deal of trust in regard to the newest senshi.  
  
It was about then that Usagi finally arrived, hobbling towards them on ground level and  
looking green in the face. Luna and Artemis ran ahead of her, the former addressing the  
senshi. "Where is she?"  
  
"Home." Makoto answered before she and the others left the heights of the wall to join their  
princess on the ground.  
  
Luna sighed in disappointment, then said: "All I wanted to do was ask a few questions."  
  
"You mean, you don't know who she is?" Rei inquired intently.  
  
Luna shook her head negatively, while Artemis helpfully inserted: "Nor do I."  
  
Ami pondered, wondering what best course of action to use from their current situation.  
Finding only one worth mentioning, she said: "Perhaps Pluto would know? She is the eldest  
and has seen many eras, so maybe this new senshi lived before we did in the Silver  
millennium, and Pluto knew of her?"  
  
"It's a start." Minako commented with the slightest shrug of her shoulders, not seeing  
anything particularly good or bad about the idea.  
  
Usagi found something wrong with it, though, who was currently on her hands and knees  
as the need to vomit sapped her strength. "But don't..." She swallowed, her mouth highly  
salivated. It was the only time she didn't like having her mouth salivating: when she had to  
return her food to the light of day. "Start right now..."  
  
Everyone gathered around their princess, concerned about her health. Luna stepped  
beneath her bowed head, looked up and apologetically asked: "I'm sorry for dragging you  
out here, but it was necessary at the time. Would you like some assistance back home?"  
  
In reply, Usagi raised her head, opened her mouth... and Luna's eyes widened in alarm as  
something much unlike words came spewing forth from her princess' lips.  
  
Just as Ranma finished her detransformation with the help of her new instincts, she was  
startled by a woeful cry that came from the other side of the perimeter wall. She was curious  
about the source, but she decided not to investigate for several reasons. However, Akane  
didn't have any reasons not to, and soon ran past her with nary a glance and entered the  
garden to investigate. Still curious, Ranma figured she could find out what happened from  
her; so she waited.  
  
A moment later, Akane returned, appearing to be a bit irritated. "What's up?" She asked her,  
feigning nonchalance.  
  
"Oh, nothing..." Akane muttered in response, unhappy. "But I know that somebody ate  
blueberry pancakes this morning."  
  
"Gross." Ranma commented, though finding it kind of interesting to find out what that other  
senshi ate. "I wonder why that is?" She questioned herself in thought.  
  
"I know..." Akane agreed, then blinked when she realized just whom it was she was talking  
to. "When did you get back?" She inquired, taking in her fiance's disheveled appearance  
and torn clothing.  
  
"Just a minute ago." Ranma answered, seeing that her fiancee was inspecting her.  
  
After giving herself an inspection of her own, she found that, though that new power had  
healed her injuries, it didn't mend her clothes or cleanse her body of filth.  
  
"So..." Akane started with slight interest. "Who won?" She hoped that Ryoga finally beat  
Ranma, trying as hard as he does.  
  
"I did, of course." Ranma replied with a proud smirk. "I put him out with a smile on his face."  
  
Akane didn't know what she meant by that last comment, but she did know another thing.  
"But it seems he really got you good this time." She observed, smiling. Let's see him deny  
that!  
  
"Like you wouldn't believe." Ranma complained in admittance, surprising Akane. But only  
Ranma knew that it was because of Ryoga's distraction that caused the demon to inflict the  
worst of her bygone injuries, so it was, in a way, the truth. Then, not wanting to waste any  
more time, she added: "And I'd like nothing more than a nice, long soak."  
  
Akane understood and allowed Ranma to walk away, but something conspicuous made  
itself known to her as she regarded her fiance's departing back. "Ranma?"  
  
Turning about to face Akane, ceasing her progress toward the bathroom, Ranma wondered  
why she was looking at her so oddly. "Yeah?"  
  
"Your hair..." Akane began uncertainly. "I didn't know you were growing it out."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma responded intelligently, then grasped her pigtail and pulled it over her  
shoulder so she could inspect it. Almost immediately, she realized that her hair was indeed  
longer, and that her hair was plaited quite loosely at the base of her head and was showing  
signs of looseness down the rest of its length. It must have grown six inches!  
  
Doing an excellent job at hiding her surprise (as far as she was concerned), she flipped her  
hair back behind her and unconcernedly said: "I didn't, either. Guess I haven't been paying  
attention to it lately."  
  
Akane wasn't fooled, and knew that Ranma was hiding something; but she didn't pursue the  
issue. There was no way that she wouldn't have noticed that much hair growth "lately",  
which would have normally taken four to six months to occur. Something was going on, and  
Ranma was withholding information from her again. Well, like always, she'll just have to  
keep an eye on the idiot.  
  
So, instead of making her suspicions known, she allowed her fiance to leave with a piece of  
advice as a parting gift. "Well, unless you want all the hassle that comes with longer hair,  
then I suggest paying more attention to it."  
  
Ranma nodded, let out a mental sigh of relief, and continued on her way to the bathroom.  
When she was sure that she was out of Akane's sight, she quickened her pace, wondering:  
"What's going on?"  
  
"The senshi are stronger than I remember."  
  
The owner of the voice gripped the armrest of his wheelchair tightly, glaring out the sliding  
glass door and past the balcony it led to with bitter hatred. It had taken him two months to  
get the required energy to summon his first demon; and it had been his own energy, leaving  
him tired and weak the entire time. Fortunately, it wasn't a complete waste since he'd  
gathered enough energy to summon a stronger demon in half a fortnight. However, it would  
require his own energy to accomplish that.  
  
"But I will destroy them." He vowed gravely. "I will NOT allow the Moon kingdom to  
re-establish its matriarchal rule over the earth again."  
  
Turning away from the morning sun, he wheeled himself into his bedroom for another  
session of self-draining that would render him weak and tired for the remainder of the day.  
  
"Never again." He muttered before he shut the door behind himself.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter one - Part two: Consequences  
  
Ranma discovers some of the many consequences that result from her choosing to become  
a senshi, and then discovers there was someone she knew that she really didn't know.  
Ryoga gets up on the wrong side of the stretcher.  
  
Crescent Pulsar: I know that "he'd've" and "she'd've" aren't words, but they work in informal  
speech, so why not in writing? Well, even if someone told me not to use it in writing, I'd've  
done it anyway. As you can see. It's my prerogative as a bad writer. 


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

Disclaimer: After these messages...  
  
Author's note (you can skip this since it is VERY long, or come back to it after you read the  
story below): First of all, if you're interested in the reason for me taking so long in posting  
this, then read my excuse at the end. Also, I did a little bit of revising on the first part. You  
see, I got Ranma 1/2 graphic novel #26 in the mail the day after I posted part one, and I've  
been under the impression by MANY authors that Ranma disappears while cloaking himself  
with a cloth using a technique from the umisen-ken. But he doesn't disappear! What's up  
with that?  
  
So, I had a quick solution that suited the situation better. It's not really worth reading the  
whole part again for, so I'll be mentioning the technique "Dark side of the moon" uses to  
disappear somewhere in the second chapter. If you feel like finding that part I changed, then  
by all means do. Just use this key word to get there: umisen-ken.  
  
Oh, and I also gave an explanation for why Ranma chose to go to her place of residence, in  
response to one of my reviewers. I try my best to explain the character's actions and  
responses, so I couldn't pass it up after a lack of such was pointed out. .  
  
I also cleaned up the scene with Ranma's guardian, since I read over it and had a hard time  
understanding what I had written. .; It's clarified now, and the guardian actually makes it  
clear as to how she is Ranma (or a part of, anyway).  
  
Anyway, I'm surprised I had positive responses to this. I know there are alot of old,  
overused plot devices and elements in this, but I needed to use them in order to get the  
story in the direction I need. The whole purpose of writing this story isn't about plot,  
anyway: it's about making Ranma an important member of the Sailor moon series without  
changing the pre-existing history of it. I'd be giving too much away if I said more, so just  
wait until I reveal Ranma's role in future chapters, okay?   
  
And now I'd like to respond to these sixteen reviews...  
  
I appreciate the feedback very much, but please don't allow the part about Ranma being a  
senshi or a girl spoil the story for you because they're only devices that are needed to  
complete and make the plot fully functional. I know how some people are about these  
things, so I can only hope you can enjoy the story for why it's written and not how it gets  
accomplished. I've spent a great deal of time putting this thing together, and you'll  
understand once you find the first chapter fifty-thousand words long.   
  
At any rate, if you stick with me as I write, you'll find that there's more to this story than  
Ranma being a senshi and all that. My main focus is character development, mind you; not  
wish fulfillment: I wasn't going to just write this because I decided to have a senshi inspired  
by one of my most favorite rock bands, so I came up with ideas to support and otherwise  
overwhelm the reason this story is being written. This could have just been a Sailor Moon  
story, but that wouldn't have been fun or hard to do.  
  
And as far as being too descriptive, I find that racing through events without giving much  
detail doesn't really give anyone a chance to imagine much of anything by the time  
something else happens. I mean, we all know what Ranma looks like as a girl, but I only did a  
general comparison with her guardian to describe her appearance, and I'm sure there was  
plenty left for the imagination to picture her as they see her in their mind's eye without me  
changing what's already there.  
  
I went all-out describing Ranma's senshi uniform because hers is different, and you needed  
to know those differences. Sure, you may know what all the other senshi's outfits look like,  
but they all have something that distinguishes them from one another; and I'm not talking  
about their colors (though you did need to know that Ranma's colors were different than the  
others, as well). I wanted to make a distinction between Ranma and the others' uniforms, and  
that Ranma wasn't sailor moon, and wasn't going to replace sailor moon.  
  
Also, I want to give my story an environment. I don't want to just write how "Ranma ran  
from the front door to the guest room." Can you really enjoy picturing that by the time  
"Ranma enters and takes a nap?" No; I want Ranma to "dash up the stairs, round into the  
hallway, and stop abruptly at the door to the guest room to open it." Then, I want him to  
"toss his backpack aside, strip to his undershirt and boxers, lay out his futon, and then lay  
upon it and take a nap after a trying day at school." I may be going into detail, but it makes  
your imagination work more efficiently than you think. Did you really see everything I wrote  
when comparing the first example with the second? If so, then you must be one of the few  
who take their time to do all the extra work: which only means I'm not doing my job as a  
writer by making readers add necessary information themselves.  
  
That's the difference between stories for children and stories for young adults upward: what  
children's stories lack in detail, compensate by using pictures; and stories for the elder  
population that lack pictures, compensate for it with details. . For the most part, anyway:  
there are always exceptions.  
  
At any rate, your imagination is how you interpret my words in this case. The more  
descriptive I am, the more your imagination works; it's as simple as that.  
  
Finally, who Ranma ends up with is still up in the air, so don't think Akane's out of the  
equation. I DO have someone for Ranma, but that'll be revealed much later... Until then,  
Ranma CAN be in a serious relationship with someone else during the time frame most of  
this story takes place.  
  
So, before I go too far along in the story and decide who Ranma ends up with, send me your  
suggestions; though be mindful that Ranma still considers herself a guy: in the sense that  
she doesn't conform to the role of a woman (so Ranma doesn't have a sudden interest in  
men or anything like that).  
  
You can suggest anyone, really; but do give a brief reason as to why. I don't care if the  
character is currently out of the picture, across the ocean, on another planet, or would never  
find themselves interested in Ranma; just suggest them and I'll see what I can do. I will admit  
that I'll favor the odd, seemingly-impossible and outlandish ones, however.   
  
As for Akane not being Ranma's partner, she only wanted Ranma to lose against Ryoga so  
Ranma would be humiliated and perhaps even part with some of that overinflated ego of his.  
Sure, Akane usually DOES want Ranma to win, but Ryoga is an exception since she thinks  
that Ranma picks on him all the time. Makes sense, no?  
  
Maybe I should reply to the reviews IN the reviews... .;  
  
Well, I hope you will enjoy this story, but I'm not very confident about my success in doing  
so. I'll just have to wait and see what happens.  
  
Now, enjoy the story! (I hope!)  
  
Dark side of the moon  
By: Crescent Pulsar  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Closing the door behind her quickly though silently upon entering the bathroom, Ranma  
rushed over to the mirror above the sink to get a better look at her hair. Turning her head  
aside as she gazed at her reflection from askance, she once again pulled her hair over her  
shoulder; only this time she could see it from a better perspective.  
  
A better perspective than she thought, perhaps. The person reflected in the mirror was her,  
yet it was not. Nothing had changed (except for the fact that her hair was longer and was  
lengthening before her eyes), but something told her that she had, indeed, changed. Then,  
she realized, it didn't concern her body. No; it was her clothing that was amiss: not because  
they were damaged beyond repair, but rather for the reason of being different from... normal.  
  
Normal? But weren't her current attire normal? Of course they were! However, a memory of  
seeing herself in other clothing reflected from a polished metal surface told her that she  
WAS wearing different clothes. In fact, everything she owned was different from her tunics,  
robes, sandals and animal skins.  
  
Wide-eyed, Ranma stared at herself in the mirror, wondering where all these strange  
thoughts were coming from. "Whuh... What's happening to me...?" She whispered, her heart  
picking up its pace as fear found a home inside it.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Chapter one - Part two: Consequences  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ranma was soon stripping herself of her clothing and tossing them into the trash (except for  
her boxers, which found themselves in the hamper since they were in good repair).  
Afterwards, she entered the furoba and gathered the necessary supplies for her ablutions:  
stool, bucket, washbasin, soap and sponge. There were already two towels on the rack, so  
she didn't have to get one (just replace the one she used after she was done).  
  
Sitting on the stool, she refrained from looking at her reflection in the large mirror over the  
faucets as she filled her bucket with cold water. She didn't want to admit it, but she was, as  
best as she could tell, disconcerted over the recent course of events. And who wouldn't be,  
after seeing and knowing things in your mind that you knew were not yours?  
  
However, as she progressed through the cleansing of her body, she soon calmed down and  
came to the conclusion that it was somehow due to her being a senshi. Her guardian had  
mentioned something about unlocking memories... Maybe that is what she had done, by  
accepting her heritage? She wasn't sure, but that was the best explanation she could come  
up with.  
  
After she finished washing her body, she then concentrated on her longer hair, having  
saved it for last since she didn't know what to do with it yet. Already she could tell that it  
had grown whilst she attended to her body, and that her hair looked ridiculous plaited so  
loosely while wet. So, deciding that she, at least, had to clean her hair, she freed her fiery  
tresses of the string which bound them and began to administer more shampoo than she'd  
ever had to use before.  
  
It was while she rinsed her hair of the shampoo that an odd thought occurred to her: why  
cut her hair back to its original length? How many years would it have taken for anyone to  
acquire such length, normally? Three years or so? Four? Past memories told her of how hard  
it was, caring and waiting patiently for her hair to grow to the length she desired, and how  
proud she was once she finally met that goal. These were not Ranma's memories, but she  
could understand, and was soon considering leaving her hair as long as it would grow  
(which she knew would be at the base of her bottom).  
  
Reluctantly, she stood up and faced the mirror, seeing herself with long, wet, (and for the  
moment) clinging hair. It almost seemed like she had blood coursing down her body. Of  
course, she saw more than her hair in the mirror: she also saw the curves of a young woman,  
that her hair made more pronounced as it cascaded down and over her torso, highlighting  
her slim shoulders and fragile clavicles, and accentuating her bountiful bosom, slight waist,  
and perfect, child-bearing hips (that's what doctor Tofu's mother said, anyway).  
  
Tearing her attention away from the mirror, her body shuddering, she opted to get into the  
hot waters of the furo as soon as possible. Her past self had seen the same image in her  
mirror of polished silver on many occasions, and it frightened her to find herself just as  
proud about the woman she had seen. Sure, maybe it never bothered her before, but to  
know that a real girl regarded her body in much the same way as she did, was unsettling to  
say the least. She just hoped it wasn't an effect from being cursed, and was instead natural;  
THAT she could handle.  
  
Being female in hot water, however, was not something she could handle; and that's the  
exact situation she found herself in. She sat there, unmoving, the water lapping over the  
swells of her breasts after her entrance into the previously-calm waters of the furo, and  
resolved to not cry out as she had done the previous times. Okay, maybe she had been  
extremely sensitive to the warmer scale of water temperature the first time due to being  
inflicted by the full-body cat tongue, but she couldn't excuse the second.  
  
Soon, her body trembled, as frustration, sadness, anger, helplessness and loss welled up  
within her being. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, knowing that the third time was  
going to be the charm (if one could call it that in this circumstance). And, before long, she  
buried her face into her hands and wept. She may not be the smartest banana of the bunch,  
but she knew, deep down, that her choice had not only made her a senshi, but a female, also.  
"What have I ever done to deserve this?" She wondered amidst her sobs. "Why me?"  
  
Unbeknownst to Ranma, there was one, unsuspecting, sympathetic ear on the opposite side  
of the shouji that separated the bathroom from the furoba. Well, there were two ears, but  
they both, nonetheless, belonged to Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki, of course, had a camera in her hand. Why else would she be at her current location,  
after learning that Ranma had returned and was taking a bath? It was the best opportunity to  
take pictures of a naked Ranma, who'd usually be too exhausted and sore after a fight with  
Ryoga to notice her presence.  
  
But she never expected to bear witness to this, nor did she plan to take advantage of it. She  
wasn't that cruel, you know; far from it, in fact. She could almost empathize with Ranma,  
watching as she cried over the loss of a loved one. Although, could anyone ever lose  
someone more important than themselves?  
  
That ultimately depended on the individual, didn't it? How would she feel, if she had become  
a man without a way of knowing how to regain her real body, her female body? She'd like to  
think that she'd be calm and accepting, but knew better: she'd be devastated. And she knew  
that that was one among many feelings that her sister's fiance was feeling at the moment.  
  
How does she know Ranma's condition, you ask? She doesn't. However, she knows very  
well that Ranma wouldn't cry over being stuck as a female if it were reversible. Now that the  
springs at Jusenkyo were flooded and, consequently, mixed, she knew that Ranma knew of  
no other way to become male unless her curse was locked by the chiisuiton. If her curse  
were made permanent any other way, then there was no chance of being male again unless  
there was a known counter to it. It seems that, to Ranma, there wasn't.  
  
At any rate, she could very well take a few pictures of this moment. There were countless  
people, both inside and out of school, that would enjoy seeing the confident, macho Ranma  
broken down like SHE was in all HER naked glory. Just copies of a single picture from this  
very scene would, in a day, bring in enough profit as she usually made off Ranma, on  
average, in a month's time.  
  
One depressed button, and a click later, and she did, indeed, have that single photograph.  
  
Tendrils of red floated about her in the now-warm recesses of the water, the larger ones  
slithering about beneath the water level and along the bed of the furo, while the smaller ones  
wafted over and just below the surface. Sniffling, Ranma didn't know how much time elapsed  
as she cried, but knew that her hair was as long as it would get by then.  
  
The sight of it floating about her had a strange, mollifying effect that she couldn't explain.  
She supposed that it could be the gentle movements of her tresses as they wavered so  
calmly around her, but the thought that the water could have been filled with her blood  
instead of her crimson hair was just as possible a cause. However, the thought of giving up  
wasn't even present for consideration.  
  
That didn't mean she knew what to do, however. She wondered, though, as she stared  
down at her reflection on the water's surface, sometimes focusing on her hair and legs  
beneath it. Being a girl for the rest of her life was such a drastic change. Hardly anyone ever  
considered it, but Ranma had, throughout her time being cursed, learned that changing your  
sexual role was so life-altering that surely nothing else could compare. It wasn't just your  
outlook that changed, but how others saw you, how they treated you, and how you  
respond to said treatment. Also, there was what society expected of you, as well as what the  
nature of your being imposed.  
  
To put it simply: Ranma did not want to live the life of a woman. She had nothing against the  
other half of the human race, but she did not find the limitations they had in society, as well  
as their role in reproduction, appealing. If the world were more like life in the Amazon village  
of yore (and she suspected that it hadn't changed), then she wouldn't have nearly as many  
qualms as she presently did.  
  
Blinking, she realized that she had lived her past life as an Amazon. Laws that she never  
knew about, she now knew; and the ones she had already known, now made more sense.  
  
Quite uncharacteristically, she, in surprise, murmured: "Oh, my..." And, idly, she wondered  
how the old ghoul would react to her being an Amazon.  
  
Surprisingly, being an Amazon actually appealed to her, now that she knew more about their  
culture and history. And why shouldn't it, knowing she would fit in almost seamlessly with  
that lifestyle? (Which she preferred over being a housewife that had no adventure at all.)  
What place did she have with her family, with the Tendo's, now that she was a girl, anyway?  
  
"No place..." She concluded, her mental voice dismal. Being a girl, she couldn't marry a  
Tendo, couldn't produce an heir, and couldn't be her mother's manly son. Worst of all, she  
had no chance of having a relationship with Akane anymore. Sure, she was against the  
whole marriage arrangement, but something about Akane always interested her (though  
she'd never admit it). She didn't know how Akane appealed to her, so she was always too  
confused or uncertain to make any real progress in their status as an engaged couple. (Well,  
they were engaged, alright: engaged in fights and arguments.)  
  
It wasn't going to do any good weighing on her problems, so she sighed and slowly raised  
herself out of the water, her hair clinging further down her body as she did so. Stepping  
onto the tiled floor of the furoba, she once more gazed at her reflection in the mirror, and  
soon confronted it and the image it held. Trailing her fingers across its cool surface,  
appearing so slender and delicate on either side, she finally took the courage to admit that  
the body she saw in the mirror was really her own.  
  
For so long she had ignored her female body, acting as though it didn't exist in some  
instances. Why be a girl, when you were born a guy? That seemed logical enough... for a  
while. But she had to admit that there were countless things that she had learned that she  
otherwise wouldn't have learned if she weren't a girl (including most of her most powerful  
techniques and skills), and for that she was grateful. There were other benefits worth  
mentioning, but now wasn't the time to: moving on with HER life was more important. But  
what to do; where to go?  
  
She had no clue, but she was determined to walk the path that now lie ahead of her. Where it  
would take her, well, she'd just have to find out. It wouldn't be easy, she knew, but did she  
really have any other choice?  
  
Retrieving a towel from the rack, she began to dry herself by patting around methodically,  
having learned a long time ago that it didn't feel pleasant rubbing herself as rough as she  
could as a guy. Far from being done, a problem arose: her hair was reintroducing water to  
her skin. Seeing the second towel on the rack (no doubt there for everyone but her father),  
she took it and wrapped up her hair with it, getting it out of the way for the time being.  
  
After she wrapped the one towel around her torso, satisfied that she was adequately dry,  
she released her hair from its confines and it all, in one damp mass, fell heavily against her  
back (most of it covered by her towel). Pondering what to do with it, she decided to leave it  
braided as usual. Was it just a coincidence that she braided her hair in the past, too?  
Somehow, she doubted it: never had she cared for her hair before getting cursed; and after  
getting the dragon whisker, braiding it just seemed like a good idea (even though she could  
have kept her hair tied up in a ponytail).  
  
Making good use of new memories, she dried her hair carefully with the second towel,  
taking precautions to prevent snarls. Once through, she picked up her hair tie from the floor  
and bound her hair with it after she was through plaiting it. Looking at herself in the mirror,  
her braid falling over her shoulder, she had to admit that she liked how she looked as she  
caressed her hand down the length of the vermillion rope that had once been her pigtail.  
  
Shaking her head to clear her mind of such trivial thoughts, she faced the shouji, took a  
deep breath, and marched toward whatever fate had in store for her beyond it, the towel that  
she had used for her hair folded over one arm. Upon opening it, she quickly noticed the  
unexpected sight of another person in the bathroom with her: Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki was leaning against the bathroom door, appearing smug, and making any  
conventional means of escape impossible. But what really caught her attention, was the  
familiar polaroid-type picture she held, in a hand that dangled from her loosely-crossed  
arms. Involuntarily, she gulped, very much alarmed by what she saw at the beginning of her  
new path. And, so, she stood, paralyzed by the dread that overcame her.  
  
However, she did manage to stammer out: "Nuh... N-Nabiki...?" Surprised, she placed her  
free hand at the base of her throat, having heard a different, decidedly feminine voice  
emanating from it. Her voice; it sounded just like her guardian's!  
  
"Seems that more than just your hair has changed." Nabiki commented calmly, showing a  
part of her hand (not her literal one) so Ranma had a clue about her advantage in their  
confrontation.  
  
Not about to be intimidated by Nabiki, Ranma gathered her resolve and stood erect, firm,  
clearly conveying defiance from her stance and facial expression. It was a pity that her voice  
quavered ever-so-slightly as she spoke, ruining the effect. "What do you want, Nabiki?"  
  
Shaking her head slightly, tsking as she did so, Nabiki regarded the now-long-haired  
redhead with a smirk before asking: "Oh? It isn't obvious?"  
  
"Stop playin' around!" Ranma demanded, her already-frazzled nerves making it easier for her  
to become angry and to lose her composure. Calming down before continuing, though her  
voice remained stern and agitated, she suggested: "Just get to the point."  
  
Removing all expression from her face, Nabiki unfolded her arms and raised the front of the  
picture she held into view. Almost immediately that feeling of dread returned to the forefront  
of Ranma's emotions at seeing a picture of herself crying into her hands in the furo, as she  
had been doing just moments ago.  
  
Alternating her gaze between Nabiki's blank visage and the picture she held, Ranma  
contemplated taking the latter away. However, she soon realized that Nabiki wouldn't be  
stupid enough to practically hand her a picture without having copies already made and  
hidden somewhere. So, losing much of her confidence in the face of a lost battle, her posture  
slouched and her facade crestfallen, she knew how this meeting was going to proceed:  
Nabiki was going to hold the picture over her head until she did whatever Nabiki wanted her  
to do, until satisfied.  
  
Knowing what was going to happen due to past experience, she somberly asked: "So...  
What is it this time?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know." Nabiki replied nonchalantly, seeming to consider her options. "Who  
says I need to use you?"  
  
Regarding Nabiki questioningly, events not playing out as they normally did, Ranma  
inquired: "What do you mean?"  
  
Nabiki smirked as she waved the picture she held back and forth, doing the latter to attract  
Ranma's attention to it. "What could you do for me that is equal to the value of this?" She  
asked rhetorically, then explained: "Oh, I'm sure I can come up with several things for you to  
do; but I doubt you could earn enough money as I could make selling copies of this, here."  
She then turned the picture around so she could look at it herself, showing a considerable  
amount of interest in what she saw.  
  
"But... But..." Ranma began to sputter, eyes wide with horror. "You... You wouldn't really do  
that, w-would you?" She didn't care all that much if embarrassing or racy pictures were sold  
of her, but one that would forever mar her reputation for being strong and confident? It was  
hard enough receiving respect as it was, so she didn't need the last thing buoying her image  
to plummet into the dirt, allowing others to take advantage of her susceptibility to verbal  
abuse.  
  
"And miss out on all the profits I could make? What do you think?" Nabiki needled, smiling  
indulgently with a glint in her eye.  
  
After studying Nabiki's face for a moment, Ranma bowed her head once the answer became  
more than abundantly clear to her. It upset her greatly, and her body trembled with feelings  
she didn't understand very well, having pretended she didn't have them for as long as she  
could remember. Said feelings seemed to dominate her so easily after the loss of her  
manhood, and all the other yet-to-happen, undesirable events only served to make her feel  
worse. This situation with Nabiki, however, was not one she had expected; but whether if it  
were or not, it still made her feel all that much worse than she had before. Could anything  
prove to degenerate things further?  
  
Snapping her head back to an upright position, her distressed yet furious eyes locking onto  
Nabiki's, she shouted: "Fine!" She threw her towel in her direction, but it hit the wall beside  
her and slumped into the hamper below. She had meant to hit her current tormentor, but it  
seemed she wasn't focused enough to accomplish such a thing. Feeling the familiar moisture  
gathering along her eyelids (which soon coated her eyes after blinking), she turned her back  
on Nabiki so she couldn't see her tears, struggling to keep them at bay.  
  
Her voice tremulous with emotion, however much she tried to conceal it, she quietly  
continued, saying: "I don't care what you do, anymore. If... If it makes you so happy making  
me so miserable, then go ahead and do it."  
  
Ranma nearly leapt off the ground in surprise when a pair of arms encircled her waist, pulling  
her into the owner of said arms' body. Then, her body stiffened when she realized that she  
was being embraced, the contact with another person discomforting her greatly. But it was  
WHOM held her that perturbed and confused her more than anything, since the only  
person with her was Nabiki. Surely, she must be imagining things! As if to refute the  
conclusion she had come to, a familiar yet uncharacteristically soft voice said: "You really  
are an idiot, you know that?"  
  
Ranma made no attempt to reply, too overwhelmed by shock, confusion, and by the fact that  
she couldn't divert her attention from the feeling of someone else being pressed against her.  
  
Continuing, Nabiki, in the same tone, asked: "You're just going to give up? Just like that?"  
  
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Ranma questioned, unable to grasp what Nabiki wanted  
from her. She was more concerned about what was going on, and whether it was a change  
for the better or not. Knowing Nabiki, she should expect the situation to get worse since she  
likes to tease her relentlessly.  
  
Sighing, Nabiki released her hold on Ranma and turned her around to face her, leaving her  
hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. Her expression one of intense scrutiny (which Ranma  
shied away from with her eyes), she queried: "Aren't you going to put up a fight like you  
usually do? Where'd the confident jock go, the one who was too stupid to know what  
defeat was?"  
  
"Hey!" Ranma countered unhappily, still capable of understanding an insult in her current  
mental disposition when she heard one.  
  
Smiling, glad that she had elicited the reaction she wanted, Nabiki playfully stated: "So there  
IS some fight left in you."  
  
Glaring at Nabiki, shrugging her hands off of her shoulders as she stepped back, Ranma was  
now angered more than anything else, now. Nabiki was just disorienting her in order to  
torment her some more in a new way. Frustration begetting tears anew, her voice low and  
quavering, she said: "Nabiki, I... I hate you." Then asked: "What in the hell did I ever do to  
you?"  
  
Nabiki's face was impassive as she held out the picture she had taken, an obvious gesture  
that Ranma questioned with her eyes when she glanced at it, and doing the same as she  
returned her attention to the person who held it. "Now what're you tryin' to pull?" She  
accused, eyes narrowed.  
  
"Destroy it." Nabiki simply instructed, voice even and unaffected.  
  
"And what good will that do?" Ranma asked rhetorically. "I know you can make copies."  
  
Doing well to hide her mirth, Nabiki replied: "This is an instant photograph."  
  
Not understanding the significance of what kind of camera Nabiki used, Ranma asked: "So?"  
  
"That means I have no negatives, which makes copying impossible."  
  
"Like I'm supposed to believe that. You just want me to THINK you can't make copies."  
  
"And my plan was working so well until you figured it out."  
  
"Yeah; just like that time you tricked me into thinking you loved me."  
  
...  
  
Her plan working better than expected, Nabiki took the opening given to her and said: "That  
was all your doing."  
  
"Huh? Wha...?" Ranma voiced in confusion, then figured out what was going on and  
crossed her arms in indignation, saying: "Oh, no; you can't blame me for that."  
  
"Oh, yes; I certainly can." Nabiki replied, her tone and expression serious. Not allowing  
Ranma any room for a reply, she went on to explain: "You're the one who's too proud and  
insensitive to apologize."  
  
"But I didn't do anything!" Ranma argued, aggravated. "And I didn't see you apologizing,  
either!"  
  
"That's beyond the point." Nabiki stated calmly in response to the last comment, then  
asked: "Why? Are you saying you're always justified, and that you don't ever have to  
apologize?"  
  
"Well, no, but..."  
  
"Exactly." Nabiki interjected. "But what you don't get, is that sometimes it's better to  
apologize whether if it's your fault or not."  
  
Ranma actually tried to understand her reasoning, but failed miserably. "I don't get it."  
  
Sighing to show her exasperation, yet restraining herself from making any insults, Nabiki  
quickly inquired: "Look, you'd rather not have Akane upset with you, right?"  
  
"Um, yeah..." Ranma answered hesitantly.  
  
"Then why not apologize, especially when you know it's your fault?" Nabiki prodded.  
  
Ranma didn't answer and lowered her head in shame while dropping her arms back against  
her flanks, knowing what her answer would be.  
  
"That's right." Nabiki said knowingly. "Your pride is much too important to you, isn't it? All  
you ever think about is yourself, and how you portray yourself around others."  
  
"That's not true!" Ranma protested, though the tinge of uncertainty in her voice hardly  
made it sound convincing.  
  
"Really?" Nabiki replied in question, looking down at the girl before her speculatively.  
"Then who were you thinking of after Akane broke the engagement with you? If you were  
considering Akane's feelings, then you would have apologized to her, wouldn't you?"  
  
"That's not fair..." Came Ranma's weak response.  
  
"It's plenty fair." Nabiki quickly corrected. "While you were blissfully ignorant of my sister's  
hurt feelings, I did all the work getting you two back together."  
  
Finding that to be outrageous, Ranma replied: "Wha...? Now way!"  
  
Nabiki just smirked, causing Ranma to doubt herself. She knew that Nabiki never said  
anything in an argument without it being backed by the truth.  
  
"Yes way." Nabiki replied, then divulged: "I was being intimate with you to make you  
uncomfortable, to make you want to be with Akane again. At the same time I tried to make  
Akane jealous, jealous enough to openly admit wanting you back. But you hurt her feelings  
again when you 'apologized', and she gave up on you since you weren't being serious."  
Seeing that Ranma was too surprised to make an immediate response, she added: "And  
haven't you ever wondered WHY Akane was at the appointed spot you and me were to  
meet for our date?"  
  
Ranma regarded her questioningly for a second, then her eyes widened in realization.  
"You...?" She blurted out in surprise, having always thought Nabiki to be anything but kind.  
  
Nodding, Nabiki then went on to explain: "And if you hadn't tried to avenge your stupid,  
hurt pride, then you would have met Akane and given her the flowers under better  
circumstances, and perhaps not even bother to mention who you were really there for. You  
two MIGHT have had a good time together."  
  
Even though Ranma felt guilty, she still, though weakly, argued: "But how was I supposed  
to know that you set Akane up with me?"  
  
"You weren't." Nabiki replied easily. "That's why it's called a surprise."  
  
Having run out of fuel to argue with Nabiki, knowing it'd be futile, Ranma sighed in defeat  
and once again returned her attention to the picture Nabiki STILL held out to her. Finding  
something odd about it, she asked: "So... Nabiki... If you REALLY have only one picture of  
me... And we both know it'd make you alot of money... Why do you want me to destroy it?"  
  
Smiling slightly, Nabiki revealed: "I don't need it."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ranma questioned, once again being confused by Nabiki.  
  
"What I mean," Nabiki began, taking on an air of solemnness. "Is exactly what I said." More  
than willing to explain, she added: "I came here to take pictures of you, yes; but I took one,  
solitary picture after witnessing what had transpired in there." She nodded almost  
imperceptibly towards the furoba.  
  
Becoming nervous in response to Nabiki's attitude, wondering what was going on, she  
asked: "Why?"  
  
"To prove a point." Nabiki answered. So saying, she continued before Ranma could  
interrupt her with another question. "If you hadn't acted so tough, showing yourself as  
being such an arrogant jerk who couldn't express his feelings if his life depended on it and  
thoughtlessly said whatever came to mind, then this (she raised the picture up to Ranma's  
eye level) wouldn't threaten you."  
  
Seeing that Ranma was unable to reply, obviously due to shock, she said: "If you had  
expressed yourself more openly and honestly, and not prove how great you were at  
everything, then no one would resent you enough to take any interest in this picture at all."  
  
"Th-they... resent me...?" Ranma asked, her voice cracking and eyes wide in disbelief. That  
couldn't be true, could it? Could it!? Nabiki had to be joking!  
  
Allowing some sympathy to show across her visage and slip into her voice, Nabiki replied:  
"They do, but needing to ask that just shows how little you bother to get to know anyone.  
Do you even know why Hiroshi and Daisuke are the only ones in the school who associate  
with you?"  
  
Ranma was afraid to answer, so didn't. She had an inkling, now, that her two friends weren't  
the most popular in school, and hadn't thought her worthy of associating with them because  
she was popular, too.  
  
"I see you're figuring it out." Nabiki observed sadly, watching as Ranma gradually appeared  
to be more and more disconsolate.  
  
Shaking her head furiously, Ranma tried to convince herself that everything was false, that  
she hadn't THOUGHT everyone envied her, but KNEW. Of course, that only made her  
realize that she really was deserving of their hate if she thought like that. Why had it taken  
so long to put the pieces together when it was so apparent? But it was just as well, wasn't  
it? She was always more concerned about herself and making an image she was sure  
everyone found appealing, yet only demonstrated that she was an arrogant, self-centered  
idiot trying to vie for everyone's attention by winning all her challenges to show how  
indomitable she was.  
  
Feeling her tears welling up again, she turned away from Nabiki, not wanting her to see  
them. However, she was whirled back around by her, who glared at her reproachfully as she  
grasped her shoulders firmly. "You still don't get it, do you?"  
  
Ranma turned her head away and lowered it so her bangs hid her face, ashamed to show her  
tears to anyone, especially Nabiki. And why not? She was the one responsible for most of  
the gossip and rumors, and especially for spreading truthful information that embarrassed or  
humiliated someone, among other such things.  
  
Sighing, Nabiki shook her head in disappointment before saying: "This is one of your  
biggest problems, you know." Getting no response, she decided to ask: "Tell me, Ranma;  
when you find something humorous, you laugh, right?" Receiving a curt nod, she ventured:  
"And when you eat Akane's food, you bemoan your existence, right?" Another nod, though  
it was a bit belated. "So, why don't you cry when you're sad?" She questioned, trying to  
reason with the girl within her possession.  
  
"I just did, didn't I?" Ranma questioned weakly, sniffling, still trying to withhold her tears  
from flowing forth after Nabiki shattered the reality she had been living in while introducing  
her to the one everyone else resided.  
  
"You thought you were alone." Nabiki reminded her, then clarified: "You express yourself  
around others so long as you don't appear weak."  
  
"That's what I've always done..." Ranma replied in her defense, though without much heart.  
  
"I don't care about that." Nabiki stated before removing her hands from Ranma's shoulders,  
one hand tilting her head up by the chin and the other holding the picture in her direct line  
of sight. "There's always room for change. I want to be able to take a picture like this one, of  
you being honest, tender and vulnerable, and feel sympathetic; not delighted."  
  
Looking over the picture in front of her, regarding Nabiki with a hurt expression etched  
across her face, Ranma asked: "You like seeing me like that?"  
  
"Not in the way you think." She answered, smiling, liking the look of confusion on her  
recipient's face. "I'm glad to finally see your facade collapse. I was beginning to lose hope  
there for a while, thinking that, perhaps, nothing I could ever do would bring the stubborn  
idiot down."  
  
Ranma's brows furrowed as she tried to understand what she had just been told. When she  
did, finally, understand, she glared at Nabiki and slapped away the hand that was under her  
chin, exclaiming: "You mean, you put me through all that hell just to see me crying in utter  
defeat!?"  
  
"You're blaming ME for YOU being so stubborn?" Nabiki coolly inquired in reply, crossing  
her arms defensively in response to the implication.  
  
Having been ready to reply, Ranma's mouth quickly flew open, then closed when she found  
herself without an answer (a practical answer, anyway).  
  
"That's right." Nabiki spoke, once again tasting victory. "You're the one who kept raising  
the stakes by not admitting defeat. All you had to do was yield and show that you were  
human like everyone else, but instead allowed me to blackmail you so the 'incriminating'  
evidence didn't get out."  
  
"But none of that would've happened in the first place if you didn't challenge me!" Ranma  
argued, though some of her fire was already flickering away: she had a feeling that Nabiki  
had an incontestable response ready for her.  
  
"How else do you expect to learn a lesson?" Nabiki queried, then challenged: "What, you  
expect to learn it without first experiencing the reason as to why you need to understand the  
lesson in the first place?"  
  
Once again being left speechless, Ranma lowered her eyes in defeat, unable to meet Nabiki's  
gaze.  
  
Nodding faintly, Nabiki stated: "You and I both know that it takes training to do what we do  
best. You may surpass me by far in strength and physical skill because of your training trip,  
but you've yet to win a battle of wits against me because I trained my mental faculties."  
Wanting to justify her actions, she added: "I was merely trying to show you how to be more  
socially accepted by threatening your perceived image, hoping you'd realize that the more  
defensive you became, the more ground you actually lost."  
  
"A lose-to-win situation..." Ranma whispered in understanding, glancing up at Nabiki once  
more.  
  
"But you never noticed how everyone resented you more as time went on, or somehow  
confused it with something else." Nabiki stated, though left it open for question as subtly as  
possible, not wanting Ranma to know she wasn't sure which was the case.  
  
"The latter." Ranma helpfully supplied in a dejected tone, admitting: "I thought everyone  
just envied me..."  
  
"Well, now who's the wiser, eh?" Nabiki commented with a lopsided smile.  
  
Ranma couldn't help looking at Nabiki in a whole different light despite all the grief she had  
put her through. Throughout most of the time she knew her, she had been making her life  
miserable, never knowing why or if she had wronged her somehow. And now she finds out  
that Nabiki had challenged her using methods she wouldn't have disagreed with if she had  
been aware of them, knowing that she would have, out of pride, accepted the challenge in  
whatever way it was presented. Still, that didn't make her feel any better about being  
resented, and it certainly didn't make a difference with her upcoming confrontation with her  
mother.  
  
Once again gesturing for Ranma to take the picture, Nabiki asked: "At any rate, are you  
going to destroy this, or not?"  
  
Examining the picture in Nabiki's hand, Ranma was tempted to take it and tear it to shreds.  
Well, more like burn it up with her ki; though it really didn't matter which since its  
destruction was the ultimate goal. Her hand reached out for it, but she hesitated and glanced  
up at Nabiki, who regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "Why am I hesitating?" She  
wondered in thought, then returned her gaze to the picture before her. "And why does  
Nabiki want ME to destroy it, when she's just as capable?"  
  
It didn't make much sense since Nabiki didn't seem to have any interest in the picture  
whatsoever, so she must be up to something again. Surprisingly, the answer presented itself  
to her faster than she expected, as a new memory played out in her mind's eye...  
  
The hut was small and simple, but was nevertheless a sacred shrine of the Amazons. It was  
built no differently than most of the homes in the village, having logs for walls and thatch  
roofing.  
  
Inside, the only light source was from a single candle, which was held by the Amazon's  
matriarch. The light it provided was not much, but it was enough to reveal a head-sized urn,  
as well as the shoulder-height crate it was set upon.  
  
Well, shoulder-height to five-year-old Tao hua, who stood nervously with knife in hand  
while wearing her ceremonial, silken robe of white (the color used in honor of the moon). Her  
robe matched that of the matriarch's in color, although the symbols differentiated from each  
other: front and back, she had a crescent-shaped bow with a silver arrow notched and ready  
to soar; the matriarch, on the other hand, wore the quarter-divided circle that represented  
the symbol for the Earth. Her symbol, the bow and arrow, was worn by every young  
Amazon during the "ceremony of the new moon", which was their initiation into the training  
regimen for huntresses and warriors. The matriarch's symbol was worn as a complement, to  
ascertain the deities that they would care and respect the land they fought, cultivated, and  
hunted upon: all would be done per necessity. These same ceremonial robes would be worn  
again during the "coming of age" ceremony, when her ten cycles of training were completed  
and she was considered a true Amazon warrior and huntress (though her robe would be  
larger to fit her older frame).  
  
"Tao hua." The matriarch addressed solemnly, her serious visage disquieting the small girl.  
It may not have been so bad if she weren't so wrinkly, but that couldn't be helped  
considering her age. Even so, her long, snow-white hair and tall, frail body would have  
reminded the small girl of a ghoul in the flickering illumination of the candlelight either way.  
  
"Y-yes, honored elder?" She managed to reply, though without much courage. This  
ceremony frightened her since her mother told her horror stories about it all the time. The  
mothers of her Amazon sisters did the very same, to those around her age that haven't  
undergone the ceremony. Those that have underwent the ceremony retold similar tales of  
equal horror.  
  
What was involved in the ceremony, you ask? Well, in all the stories there was one  
constant: you WILL place your hand inside the magic urn. However, after that, everything  
differed. Most everyone who had experienced the ceremony said that there was a terrible  
beast, venomous creature, or even a flesh-consuming flame inside the urn. It was a test, and  
all you had for help were your wits and a small knife. Being five-years-old, no Amazon had  
any experience with weapons at that age, and so having a knife reassured them little; and  
she was no exception. Still, she would do her best to prove herself an Amazon worthy of  
being a huntress and warrior.  
  
"Stand upon the stool and reach your hand into the urn." The matriarch directed. "Fear not  
and defeat the hidden enemy that awaits you."  
  
Gulping, Tao hua did as she was instructed and stepped onto the stool that was hidden in  
the shadow of the crate, and almost fell from it due to her trepidation. Then, after a moment  
of hesitation, she hoisted her upper body with one arm as she leaned forward and slowly  
dipped her knife-wielding hand inside the depths of the urn.  
  
Unknown to the little girl (whose attention was focused on the safety of her hand), the  
matriarch scuffed her foot along the wooden floor twice. No sooner had she completed the  
action, did the young Amazon with fiery locks yelp in surprise and fright when something  
grabbed ahold of her wrist and began pulling her arm well past the limit of the urn's bottom  
(which only frightened her more). "No! No! Let go! Let go!" She cried out as she tried to  
pull back, tears spilling from her eyes. "I don't want to be pulled in!"  
  
After a moment of struggling, she was finally let go once she lost hold of her knife, and fell  
back into the awaiting arms of the matriarch (who had swiftly moved to catch her). Once  
she was set on the ground, her legs trembling from her ordeal, the matriarch took the urn and  
presented it to the her. Flinching at the sight of it, she took it and examined it, puzzled when  
she found the urn bottomless.  
  
Looking up at the matriarch (who stood behind her), she, her voice shaking, asked:  
"Wh-where's the b-bottom?"  
  
Seeing the matriarch point to the top of the crate in response, she hesitantly decided to  
investigate and satisfy her curiosity. Once she stood upon the stool once again, (which she  
could now see due to the candle's new position), she gasped when she found a hole where  
the urn used to be. Then, frightened by the sudden movement of the crate, she dashed over  
to the matriarch and hugged her leg from behind for protection.  
  
From within the crate, another Amazon moved it onto its side so she could stand up and  
reveal herself. She was fairly tall, taller than the matriarch, with violet hair braided down the  
length of her back, and with fuchsia-colored eyes that were, at the moment, disarming and  
kind. Her attire was not special, wearing something casual as a tunic and a straight-falling  
skirt tied at the waist with a cord of hemp. Being the granddaughter of the matriarch,  
Tao hua knew this Amazon VERY well. "Mommy...?" She questioned, shocked by this  
revelation.  
  
"Yes, it's me, dear." The mother admitted, trying her best to hide her guilt. No mother  
enjoyed doing this to their daughters, but it was an important lesson and cornerstone in  
their development as huntresses and warriors. It was the most effective and safest method  
of guaranteeing a finely-trained and skillful Amazon in both the short and long term.  
  
Abandoning her grandmother, Tao hua rushed up to her mother and exclaimed: "Mommy!"  
Said mother caught and raised her daughter to her bosom, and began to console her  
sobbing child with words and gentle strokes.  
  
It was amazing how such a short and simple ceremony could prepare practically any  
Amazon for their training, and how many important lessons could be learned by applying  
the method used to initiate them into the ten-cycle-long regimen.  
  
First and foremost, it teaches one to be fearless; not arrogant or over-confident, but fearless.  
If you feel dread, then you have already been considered defeated. For, you see, even  
something as harmless as a mother could catch you off guard and kill you if you allow fear  
to cripple you beforehand. However, should you die without giving in to fear, then you  
have not been defeated since you have not given up. This helped those face hidden  
opponents and wild beasts, and opponents that hid their true strength or were making their  
movements random and otherwise unreadable, so as to accomplish something underhanded.  
Overall, it teaches one to be alert and aware of their surroundings, to react instantly without  
delay.  
  
Second, it teaches one to not enter battle with shafts flying; or so they said back in the old  
days. That's why the matriarch had scuffed her feet twice, warning her mother that she (back  
then) had entered the urn with her most effective defense against whatever was inside the  
urn. If it isn't necessary, then don't flaunt your most effective skills. Information has many  
mediums with which it uses to travel, and the exhibition of one's best skills would only be  
detrimental if another opponent learns of them and, eventually, defeats you (even if they  
were weaker and lacking in skill; it can and has been done).  
  
Finally, it teaches one that training can be found in even the most unconventional ways.  
More importantly, it was finding a way to train that would be just as beneficial as the  
methods used before it, only safer and, perhaps, even quicker.  
  
Essentially, if she had trained with the Amazons, then she would have avoided facing one  
fear at a time as her father tossed her into training and expected her to deal with it. The  
Neko-ken training was a good example of how her father trained her normally, but it was the  
only training that caused her to absolutely dread something with every fiber of her body.  
  
Glancing back up at Nabiki, she couldn't help smiling slightly as she declared: "I won't  
destroy it."  
  
"So, you want me to do it?" Nabiki queried, her face void of any tale-telling expression. She  
didn't want to reveal how she felt about it, almost by reflex.  
  
"Nope." Ranma replied easily, then crossed her arms confidently and added: "In fact, you  
can sell it 'round to whomever wants to see it."  
  
Still straight-faced, Nabiki stated: "That's just what I'll do, you know." Not getting a  
negative reaction, she smiled in satisfaction and pulled the now-surprised redhead into an  
embrace. "I'm so proud of you." She told her sincerely.  
  
Ranma didn't know how to respond, so kept quiet. Okay, so maybe it had something to do  
with her head being stuffed between the two mounds on Nabiki's chest, but was that really  
important?  
  
After a moment, Nabiki leaned back and looked down at Ranma, asking: "Say, does that  
mean I can sell that picture I took of you when I caught you crossdressing?"  
  
Bearing a sweat drop behind her head and an odd look on her face due to exasperation,  
Ranma awkwardly replied: "Um... Sure. Why not?" Man, Nabiki was going to be reeling in  
the dough when school reopened in a week; that was for certain.  
  
As for the picture Nabiki mentioned... Well, she had been curious and finally gathered the  
nerve to wear feminine undergarments one day. It wasn't long after she had been dressed in  
Akane's pink overalls and long-sleeved, black shirt, deciding that clothing was clothing and  
girls did seem to have more than enough of it. The only embarrassing part about that time at  
present, is that it had been Nabiki's underwear that she had borrowed. She didn't choose  
Akane's since hers were too small (obviously), and she hadn't chosen Kasumi's because she  
respected her more than the others; so she was left with Nabiki, whose bra size just  
happened to fit her at the time. And it was during that time that she had learned to put on a  
brassiere properly, which helped her to do so when she had to take provocative pictures of  
herself in order to get Happosai to release his aura, so she could then defeat him with the  
hiryu shoten ha.  
  
"Great!" Nabiki responded happily, appreciatively. "Now, are you even the least bit curious  
as to WHY I sell pictures of you?" She asked, breaking her embrace and stepping back, her  
expression lost once more behind a mask.  
  
"To make money?" Ranma answered as innocently as ever.  
  
Sighing and closing her eyes, Nabiki shook her head with disappointment. "Be patient." She  
told herself in thought. Then, reopening her eyes, she asked: "And why do I need money?"  
  
Ranma tilted her head thoughtfully, index finger tapping her bottom lip as she considered  
her answer. Smiling despite herself, she asked: "To rule the world?"  
  
"Nope." Nabiki answered, grinning. "That's the third stage of my plan."  
  
Blinking while regarding Nabiki incredulously, Ranma asked: "Are you serious?"  
  
"Maybe." Nabiki replied cryptically, then became serious again, saying: "But that's not  
important." Ranma wondered what she was missing, when Nabiki asked: "Do you know  
where any of the money I make goes?"  
  
Ranma gave her answer with a quiet shake of her head. What was she going to reveal to her,  
now; that she donated to charities? Now THAT would be a surprise!  
  
Shaking her head herself, wondering how someone could be so dense, Nabiki said: "It goes  
towards the bills, the food, the repairs..." Ranma was slack-jawed as she continued. "And  
our college intuition."  
  
"'O-our?'" Ranma repeated in question, staring at Nabiki in utter shock. Could it be true?  
Well, now that it was brought to her attention, she didn't see where else the money could  
come from. Her father had long since quit his job as doctor Tofu's assistant, and no one else  
worked as far as she knew... It was so embarrassing for not noticing before, otherwise she  
would have helped Nabiki by posing for photographs of her own free will, or done  
something else to help out. Nabiki must really consider her an idiot after not realizing for so  
long. Such thoughts made her bow her head, too ashamed to show her face.  
  
"Of course." Nabiki admitted, smiling with some amusement. "Even if you're not going to be  
my brother-in-law anymore, I still hope to see you more intelligent one day."  
  
"Hey..." Ranma voiced threateningly, glaring at Nabiki in response to her insult. Soon,  
however, she just smiled and shook her head, amazed at how she now saw Nabiki (it was  
almost like she had been replaced by a good twin instead of the other way around). How  
much more would things change? It was as if her whole world were crumbling and turning  
upside down at the same time.  
  
"But why is Nabiki revealing all this to me all of a sudden?" Ranma suddenly wondered as  
she regarded the person in question. The Nabiki she knew a few moments ago just didn't  
exist anymore, having completely changed into this new Nabiki. It wasn't a bad thing (that  
was for sure), but it was odd how she didn't find out one aspect at a time over the course  
of... Well, however long it would have taken her to find out. Instead, Nabiki seemed to be  
displaying all this information here and now; and for free, no less!  
  
Finding that her curiosity was getting the better of her, she couldn't resist uttering: "Um,  
Nabiki?"  
  
"Yes?" Nabiki replied, amused as she watched Ranma shuffle around uncomfortably. She  
suspected that she had caught on to what she was doing... to some degree. You see, it  
seemed as if Ranma's brain only worked well during physical conflict, so she was out of her  
element and unlikely to put all the major pieces of the puzzle together. In a battle, however,  
Ranma was simply brilliant; strange at times, but brilliant nonetheless.  
  
"Why?" Ranma inquired, her eyes searching Nabiki's tentatively. "Why are you showing all  
this to me now?"  
  
"You really don't know?" Nabiki counter-questioned, giving the short-statured girl before  
her a chance to work it all out herself so she didn't have to explain.  
  
Receiving a negative in the form of a shaking head, Nabiki sighed and shook her own head,  
wondering why she ever gives Ranma the benefit of the doubt half the time. Not about to  
waste any more time, she said: "Well, I don't know how you locked your curse or why your  
hair lengthened and your voice changed, but the simple fact of the matter is this: you can't  
change back."  
  
Ranma nodded and left her head bowed, becoming subdued after being reminded of her  
situation. Somehow (and she really didn't know how), talking to Nabiki had distracted her  
and calmed her for a moment; not long, but it was still noticeable. She couldn't remember  
that happening before.  
  
"And we all know what that entails, don't we?" Nabiki continued, receiving another nod for  
an answer. Softening her voice while looking sympathetic, she revealed: "So, in case the  
worst scenario plays out, I wanted you to know what I've been doing. I didn't want you to...  
die, thinking I was some kind of horrible monster. But if your mother doesn't go through  
carrying out the seppuku, then I'd like to be friends."  
  
Raising her head as if startled, Ranma regarded Nabiki in wide-eyed disbelief. Unable to  
collect all her bearings, she was only able to stammer out: "R-r-really?"  
  
"Really." Nabiki conceded, smiling. "With the arranged marriage out of the way and my  
lesson FINALLY over, what's to stop me now?"  
  
Ranma couldn't believe it; Nabiki wanted to be her friend! And it sounded like she had  
wanted to be for some time now! There was no describing the feelings she felt welling up in  
her bosom, as her heart pounded wildly with enthusiastic glee! But it wasn't to last as her  
last memory of such an offer quickly dampered whatever good mood she had briefly been in.  
Maybe Nabiki wouldn't be like Akane and hate her for being different (or being herself), but  
that wasn't what concerned her. What DID, was the pledge of honor to unite the schools  
that reminded her of the pledge to commit seppuku if she weren't considered a man to her  
mother, which in turn reminded her that she may not live to enjoy a friendship with the  
middle Tendo daughter.  
  
"What's wrong?" Nabiki asked with concern, seeing her new friend overcome by  
depression after having been beaming with delight for mere seconds; it hardly seemed fair to  
see it robbed from her so soon.  
  
"We can only be friends 'IF' I don't have to commit seppuku..." Ranma stated quietly, sadly,  
her eyes downcast.  
  
Nabiki took Ranma's hands (much to her surprise and discomfort) and held them between  
her own, trying to reassure her further as she inquired: "What are you talking about? We're  
friends NOW, aren't we?"  
  
"Yeah; but how does that matter if I'm going to die soon, anyway?" Ranma answered  
sullenly, though was beginning to take some comfort in having her hands held as they were.  
  
Squeezing the hands she held a bit more firmly, Nabiki sternly replied: "Because the Ranma I  
know wouldn't give up. So, what's it going to be: are we friends until the bitter end, or are  
you a stranger resigning yourself to the gallows?"  
  
It was unbelievable how right Nabiki was, and always seemed to be. Ranma felt so stupid for  
letting herself become crippled by fear, especially after a part of her awakening memories  
helped her to understand that she had nothing to fear when it came to pictures that revealed  
her true self, or even moments when she wasn't. Being fearless had proven to save her life a  
multitude of times in her past existence, so why not here and now, where it had saved her  
skin just as many a time?  
  
Her spirits revived and eyes wrinkled with gratitude as she raised them to meet Nabiki's,  
Ranma, in a more lively tone, admitted: "You're right, Nabiki: Ranma wouldn't give up."  
  
"Good." Nabiki commented, mentally relieved. "Now, I have one last issue to take care of:  
how did you manage to get into this mess in the first place?"  
  
Feeling a little sheepish at first, knowing how often she got herself into trouble, Ranma  
lowered her eyes. Then, remembering how it all came about subdued her in thought, as she  
worked out all the details about the senshi that she knew of. It seemed as if Ryoga knew  
them, but he acted as though they were common knowledge and not some rare occurrence  
like one of those passing comets she had heard about once. Speaking of comets, all the  
senshi seemed to refer to themselves by their respective celestial object. So, were they like  
her; where they lived normal (not compared to herself) lives outside of being a senshi,  
revealing not their identity by mentioning only their title as a senshi? That seemed so, so  
then it would only be sensible to consider her status as a senshi as a secret.  
  
Trying to convey her forgiveness through her eyes, Ranma apologetically replied: "I'm  
sorry, Nabiki, but I think that'll have to remain a secret." Seeing that Nabiki didn't seem very  
thrilled to hear that, she quickly added: "I would if I could, but others that have gone  
through the same thing as me haven't spoken of it, either, I'm sure." Not that she knew how  
appealing a bunch of fighting cheerleaders would be to the populace, and whether or not  
any attention would be good attention. Still, that certain something told her that "Ranma"  
and "Dark side of the moon" should remain separate identities: that new instinctual part of  
her that she had inherited after being inducted into the ranks of the senshi.  
  
"Oh, alright." Nabiki sighed with obvious disappointment, then gave Ranma a heartfelt hug.  
Ranma wasn't sure what to do, but slowly, tentatively, she wrapped Nabiki in her arms, as  
well. Not that she was going to admit it aloud, she was beginning to like being hugged  
(by someone who cared about her, anyway).  
  
After breaking away, Nabiki smiled warmly as she perched her hands on Ranma's shoulders,  
saying: "Now, go get dressed and talk to Akane about what has happened." Catching the  
obvious buildup of disagreement on the face before her, she sternly added this before  
Ranma could interject: "You WILL tell her, because she deserves to know sooner than  
later." Not leaving any room to brook an argument (though Ranma seemed to have been  
convinced that she was right), she continued with what she had planned to say. "I'll inform  
Kasumi about what has happened. I'm not about to let you confront your mother without  
our support."  
  
"Y-you'd do that?" Ranma responded, her eyes wide in astonishment, touched. With them  
helping, she felt as if she actually had a chance of avoiding seppuku! And for some odd  
reason she felt like crying, even though she knew that she was getting assistance from  
someone who really wanted to help her. Acting on impulse, she swung her arms around  
Nabiki's waist and squeezed with all the feeling she could muster to convey her gratitude,  
even as she exclaimed: "Thank you so much!"  
  
It seemed that she was squeezing Nabiki with a bit TOO much fervor, whose breath was lost  
to her as her eyes popped out of her sockets and her arms flailed up and down feverishly.  
Noticing the movement of Nabiki's arms, Ranma looked up to find the purplish-hued face of  
her new friend. Letting go of Nabiki faster than you can say "aiyaa", she began to apologize  
profusely as Nabiki panted and tried to regain her composure.  
  
Once she did, she held up her hand, gesturing for Ranma to silence herself (which she did,  
though not without looking ashamed), and said: "Enough! I'm okay." Ranma was about to  
make sure, but Nabiki knew what to expect and narrowed her eyes, warning her not to do so.  
  
Certain that her redheaded friend wasn't going to say anything, she calmly said: "Don't  
worry about me, okay? Just do what I've planned." Then she decided to explain why, just to  
give her a better incentive to listen and follow through with what she had planned. "Your  
mother will not fail to notice your changes or the fact that you won't be seen male, so it's  
best to confront her when you're ready for her, not when she's ready to question you."  
  
"You're right." Ranma acknowledged, gathering her resolve for what she knew had to be  
done, straightening her posture and setting an expression of determination on her face as  
she did so.  
  
And with that said and done, she hugged Nabiki much more gently than before, thanked  
her again, then strode around and away from her. As she did, she reviewed what had  
happened with Nabiki, and wondered how else her life was going to change in ways that  
would surprise her. At least, in this case, it was for the better... Though she was afraid she  
had just jinxed herself.  
  
Once Ranma closed the door behind herself, Nabiki sighed and shook her head, relieved to  
have finally gotten that over with. Not that she didn't want to do it (and would in fact do it  
again), she just wasn't one for being patient, and Ranma certainly knew how to draw things  
out (even if she didn't realize it).  
  
"Still," She began in thought, smiling. "I've finally had the opportunity to be friends with  
him... her." Which she had been wanting to do since she found out about her curse.  
However, since she was not interested in marriage, she didn't want to become too friendly  
and have the fathers notice, who would then switch the marriage to a more "agreeable"  
daughter.  
  
But she did find a way to make it impossible for Ranma to even attempt being friendly with  
her, so she didn't have to try and come up with excuses as to why she disliked her. That's  
why she always tried to tell her younger sister that nothing was wrong with her fiance, yet  
would never be taken seriously about it, as though she were joking.  
  
She wasn't joking, of course. There was something special about Ranma that she had  
noticed after the first few days of her stay, and she had been intent on figuring out what it  
was. Mysteries interested her, you see; and Ranma's dual nature was quite the mystery to  
her after some period of examination.  
  
What dual nature, you ask? Well, Ranma seemed rather modest and quiet at first, then  
showed that she could be the exact opposite by being arrogant, rude and boisterous. Not  
that she blamed her for reacting the way she did to Akane's ill treatment (to a guest, no less),  
but she had never known anyone to just "turn off" one attitude and "switch on" another.  
The one aspect about Ranma that never changed was her intelligence, which was sorely  
lacking.  
  
Sure, anyone could act, but what reason would Ranma have to act modest and shy if the  
opposite personality was her true and only one? Right; if she was indeed like that, then she  
wouldn't feel the need to pretend being nice or gracious. What tells her that there is, indeed,  
another side to Ranma, is that she does try to act nice sometimes, and is actually selfless  
when she needs to be (even when she normally wouldn't want to be). How else do you  
explain the time she was protected by her from the other fiance (Ukyo), want-to-be fiance  
(Kodachi), and Amazon wife (Shampoo), when she had angered and confused her so utterly  
around that time?  
  
That's why she has wanted to be her friend for so long, because it would be easier to  
understand her if she were more open to express herself to someone she could trust.  
Besides, having half of her mind made up to become a psychiatrist, she decided that it  
would both be good practice and worth writing a ground-breaking book about. Maybe the  
critics and others in her profession wouldn't take her seriously and outright dissent her  
study on a person who could actually switch between sexes by magic, but it'd be funny to  
be one of the very few people to know the truth despite it being available for the world to  
read.  
  
Remembering what she had to do at the here and now, she made her way into the furoba to  
put away the bathing supplies Ranma had forgotten about. She had noticed shortly after the  
now-permanent girl had stepped out from there and into the bathroom, but hadn't said  
anything about it since there were more important things to worry about. And after cleaning  
up, she would go directly to Kasumi and get her up to speed on the situation. Hopefully,  
Ranma won't fail in telling Akane what she needed to know; though she had the feeling that  
she didn't need to worry.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Paramedics, fireman, police and reporters had overrun the scene where the latest fight of the  
senshi had taken place. A cleanup crew was there, too, of course; but there was no room for  
them to work. They had to wait until all the injured and dead were either receiving medical  
attention or being sent to the morgue, respectively, anyway. Also, so as to not be  
unprofessional, the police were gathering evidence to make sure that none of the injured or  
deceased were in such conditions because of another human being.  
  
Early on in the search for those who could be buried under rubble, a fireman hailed a pair of  
paramedics over to a young man he had found within a hole in a restaurant's building. As  
the fireman continued his search, all he told the paramedics was that he had "found a live  
one."  
  
The paramedics had, at first, assumed that the young man had been badly injured since they  
had also assumed that he had been knocked through the wall. However, even a brief  
inspection showed that the young man wasn't injured at all, and that there was only some  
blood loss from the nose. Other than that nothing seemed wrong, though it was strange to  
find him in the women's restroom.  
  
Beside them and a short distance away, one of the cameraman who was ordered to film as  
many scenes of the dead and injured as possible without needing his reporter for  
commentary, focused on them as they began to cut away the straps of the unconscious  
man's backpack. Once through, they moved to lift the man onto the stretcher, taking all  
necessary precautions in the case that there were internal injuries they couldn't readily find  
without the right equipment.  
  
After setting the young man onto the stretcher, they were startled when said young man  
bolted into an upright position, who then looked about himself wildly before asking:  
"Wh-where am I? What's going on?"  
  
The cameraman began to wave at his reporter, signaling her over since he thought he had  
caught something interesting. She soon noticed him and abandoned her questioning of one  
of the witnesses, whom she'd most likely return to in order to get her to retell all the  
interesting details concerning the fight on camera. Another person on their crew was filming  
live, so she was left to gather information and whatever else that may be interesting that her  
fellow reporter wasn't able to catch.  
  
"Hold on, son." One of the paramedics ordered, needing to do some questioning of his own.  
"Do you know who you are?"  
  
Ryoga gave him an odd look, thinking the question silly. "Of course I do. I'm Hibiki Ryoga!"  
  
"Are you having trouble remembering anything?" The other paramedic inquired.  
  
"I'm fine, damn it!" Ryoga retorted impatiently, quickly becoming irritated. He had a certain  
pigtailed martial artist to find and had no time for idle chitchat, so he leapt to his feet and  
picked up his backpack, preparing to take his leave of the place.  
  
Worried that this "Ryoga" could very well be injured without knowing it, the first paramedic  
quickly warned: "You could be hurt, so please lie back down!" The second paramedic  
added: "You need to be checked at the hospital to make sure everything's alright."  
  
Turning around swiftly to glare at the two persistent paramedics as he held his backpack  
over his shoulder by one strap, he emphatically said: "Would you give it a rest, already! All  
I did was..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing what he was about to admit. Thankfully, he  
caught himself just in time to avoid embarrassing himself.  
  
Unfortunately, however, the paramedics wanted to know what happened to him if he knew:  
that way they could leave him be if it wasn't anything worth attending to (if they believed  
him, anyway). "What?" The second paramedic questioned. "All you did was...?"  
  
They got a reply from him, but it was muttered so low that they couldn't hear it. Add in the  
fact that he turned his back on them while lowering his head, they knew he didn't want to  
talk about it. But that was him, and they needed a good excuse so they could cease  
following protocol and help another person who was in need of their help.  
  
Trying to be patient, the first paramedic asked: "What was that, son? Could you speak up?"  
  
After a moment of self-deliberation, Ryoga decided that telling two paramedics wouldn't  
hurt, and it'd hopefully get them off his back. Facing them once again, he stood proud and  
tall, his expression one of determination as he replied: "I fainted."  
  
The paramedics blinked a few times before bursting out with laughter. Unable to tolerate  
being laughed at, Ryoga was enraged well before the passing of a second. "What's so  
funny!?" He demanded as he scowled at them.  
  
The first paramedic suppressed his laughter, so he could say: "That explains why you're in  
the WOMAN'S bathroom! You must have been peeping just before everyone got here, and  
a woman caught you and socked you right in the nose!" So concluding, he picked up where  
he left off and began to laugh again.  
  
"That's not what happened!" Ryoga yelled in repudiation, his nostrils flaring in anger. How  
dare they accuse him of doing such a thing!  
  
"Then, how did it happen?" A new voice questioned, who shoved a microphone into his  
face. He let out an "Eep!" of surprise at the sight of it, an "Urk!" of dread as he noticed the  
woman holding it, and an "Ack!" of shock upon finding the camera: now the whole of Japan,  
no, the WORLD, was going to know he fainted! What was worse, was that everyone will  
think that he was peeping; especially Akane!  
  
So, in dire need of proving his innocence, he hastily explained: "I was just... just... watching  
the fight! Yeah, and then, um..." Well, at least he gave it a good try. Not that it mattered  
when someone from across the street shouted: "There he is! That's the guy we were telling  
you about!"  
  
Ryoga, of course, glanced in the direction of whomever was shouting (his bad sense of  
direction leaving his hearing alone), and was startled when he found a mob of people  
rushing toward him, reporters and cameramen in tow.  
  
"Sorry, but I have to go! Heh-heh!" Ryoga anxiously apologized to the reporter beside him  
as he began to put one arm through one of the straps of his backpack as fast as he could.  
Having thought one strap could support the backpack as his other hand let go of the other  
strap so it, too, could guide its arm into the second strap, he was surprised when his  
backpack fell to the ground with a profound thud. The paramedics, cameraman, and the  
reporter were astonished as the tile around the backpack became webbed with cracks, as  
chips of broken tile popped upward close to where it impacted.  
  
Finding his straps cleanly severed, Ryoga, in a panicked manner, blurted: "How in the hell  
did THIS happen!?"  
  
The two paramedics began to rock back and forth on their feet, clasping their hands behind  
their backs as they whistled innocently. Who knows if Ryoga would have been fooled by  
their conspicuous act (which was meant to be inconspicuous, somehow), but he was too  
concerned about leaving the immediate area to notice much about his surroundings.  
  
So, after grabbing his backpack by one of its now-inoperative straps, he dashed toward the  
restroom door... and left through a newly-installed exit on the opposite wall (which he didn't  
notice making). Fortunately (for him, anyway), he found himself in a small alley. Seeing  
people down one side, he headed down the other posthaste, crying out: "Damn you,  
Ranma! This is all your fault!"  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chapter one - Part three: A new path wrought by pain and loss  
  
Ranma fills Akane in about her situation, and they have a heart-to-heart. She then gets a  
visit from a mysterious yet familiar woman who comes bearing a gift, and afterwards she  
confronts her mother.  
  
Crescent Pulsar: My excuses for taking so long in posting this? I was moving! We  
switched our trailer for a roomier doublewide. I've been packing, helping clear the yard  
(including the removal of a 12x12 deck), and moving stuff around.  
  
There were several postponements made by the place we got our doublewide from, so we  
spent several days without air conditioning since we sold our unit (having thought that  
we'd be staying over at a friend's house since we expected the movers to be there the  
following day, and because our new doublewide has a heat and air conditioning system).  
So, while I sweltered for four days, I couldn't focus on writing while feeling so... bleh. ; I  
had more work to do around the house, anyway.  
  
Our friend doesn't have a computer, and we didn't want to impose with ours, so the days we  
spent there I couldn't write anything. We planned to only be there three days, but due to  
more delays (including two no-work weekends) and waiting for inspections, we ended up  
staying there ELEVEN days.  
  
Then, after we moved in, I took a rest for two days. I began to write again afterwards, but  
decided to post after finishing one part ahead of what I'm posting so I can give accurate  
synopsises for the next due part at the end of each post. There was a bunch of fiction and  
fan-fiction to catch up with, too. Also, I've begun to write another story on the side that has  
a nasty twist in it for poor, hapless Ranma.  
  
Basically, I should've had this part done and posted in a week, not six! Oh, well. However,  
I'm well on my way with the fourth part of chapter one! Yay! Also, the first chapter should   
come to a close after completing part four, and I estimate that the first chapter will be  
fifty-thousand words in size. This story is going to be a bit long, so bear with me. (V).  
  
As a parting note, I'd like to inform you that the story will gradually become less serious and  
a little more humorous after chapter one excepting a few scenes here and there.  
Nevertheless, I have a tendency for making things boring, serious, dramatic and angsty; so  
please don't hate me! Sweat drop 


End file.
